Bring It On Home To Me
by FireWife320
Summary: Still struggling with the death of Shay, Severide is headed downhill fast. Can Squad 3's newest member break through the ice and save the Lieutenant before he hits rock bottom? AU. Rated for later mature content.
1. Chapter 1

Taylor hummed softly to herself as she and Brett bustled around the kitchen, adding the final touches to Firehouse 51's Thanksgiving meal. Today marked one month since she had gotten the spot that had suddenly come available on Squad 3. Today also marked her eighth month in Chicago. It had been a rough transition, but it had been worth it so far.

"Done." Brett announced, placing the last neatly wrapped bundle of silverware onto a table.

Taylor gave her new – and so far best – friend a well-deserved high-five. "Fit for a king."

Brett laughed, "We make a great team."

"We make an _awesome_ team." Taylor grinned.

"Something smells amazing!" Mouch exclaimed, leading the hoard of firefighters who had been drawn to the break room.

Otis made a beeline for the plates, "Let's eat!"

"Hold it, _hold it_!" Taylor shouted above the throng. "We gave to say grace first."

She was met with stares.

"Oh, good grief. This won't take but a minute. Put your big girl panties on and hold hands." She watched as the men reluctantly formed a ring around the room. Dawson and Casey were holding hands, naturally. Cruz barely beat Mills to grab Brett's hand, which meant that Mills and Cruz had to hold hands in order to keep the whole thing from looking weird. Brett snatched Taylor's left hand and gave her a little squeeze. Not really paying attention, Taylor held her right hand out to the side. The hand that took hers was strong. She looked up, expecting to see Hermann or Chief Boden. Instead, she saw her Lieutenant.

Severide didn't look at her.

Taylor had long ago gotten the impression that he didn't like her very much, but she didn't know why. She didn't have time to say so much as hello, though; it was time to ask the blessing. She took a deep breath, bowed her head, and closed her eyes, "Almighty Father, we come to You today in the spirit of Thanksgiving. We thank You for the many blessings that You give us, for the food that we are about to partake of, for the brotherhood that we are a part of, and," she squeezed Brett's hand, "for the friendships that we so cherish. Please protect us as we continue to serve the city of Chicago, forgive us when we fail you, and lead us in the way that is most pleasing to You. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen."

A quiet chorus of amens followed and a few men crossed themselves as hands dropped.

"Dish up!" Taylor happily exclaimed, still holding Brett's hand. She ignored how quickly Severide dropped her hand and moved away.

Chief Boden came up behind the two women, and put a hand on each of their shoulders, "Ladies, you have outdone yourselves."

"Thank you, Sir." they said in unison.

"Come eat with us." Mills said, passing the trio with a plate piled high.

"Are you gonna eat with Squad?" Brett asked as she and Taylor joined the food line.

Taylor looked out at the tables, spotting Squad at their usual table. All of the chairs were full. She tried not to sound disappointed, "Guess not."

"You can sit with us, Taylor." Otis said, overhearing the conversation. "Truck welcomes everyone." he added loud enough for the entire room to hear.

"Thanks, Otis." Taylor was sure her face was scarlet by now.

Several of the guys from Squad had looked up when Otis had spoken. Severide had ignored him.

Newhouse watched Taylor take a seat beside Herrmann, who put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle shake, praising her and Brett's cooking. "Lieutenant…do we really have to be so hard on her?"

Severide shot him a scathing look.

"She _is_ on Squad now." Capp added. "It, uh, makes us look really bad."

"Then go sit with Truck." Severide growled.

And suddenly, Squad was fed up. They were tired of his mood swings. They were tired of his anger. They were tired of his unpredictability. They were tired of his issues. They were tired of covering for him when he came in hungover. And they were tired of the way that he had been treating Taylor. As one, they gathered their plates and drinks and left the table, leaving Severide to himself.

"Mind if we sit with you guys?" Newhouse asked, feeling suddenly awkward.

Casey grinned, "Truck welcomes everyone."

...

"What's your deal?"

Severide paused beside his car. He _really_ didn't want to deal with her right now. "Go home, Taylor." He started to open the passenger side door, but her hand shot past him and slammed the door shut. Angry, Severide whirled around to face her, "What the hell?"

She didn't flinch, meeting his blazing blue eyes with her own fierce hazel graze. "I want to know what your beef is with me."

He started to speak. No, he started to yell. He started to curse. He started to shake her. He started to tell her to go back to Georgia. But instead, he deflated. Sighing heavily, his shoulders drooped. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"Taylor…" He sighed again, "I'm sorry. I've been a jerk. I just…have a lot on my mind."

"That doesn't give you the right to be a turd."

She was right. He'd been nothing but rude to her since she'd come to 51. "You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm sorry."

Taylor looked hard at Severide, trying to read him. His eyes held many emotions. At length, she stepped back and said, "Apology accepted."

"Taylor!" Brett called, jogging over to where they stood, "Cruz and I are gonna grab some coffee. Wanna come?"

Taylor shrugged, instantly changing her tone of voice into a casual, upbeat tone. "Sure."

"What about you, Lieutenant?" Brett looked at him expectantly.

"No, thanks. I've got a couple of things that need to get done." It was a lame excuse, but an excuse nonetheless.

"Suit yourself." Brett took Taylor by the elbow and led her away.

Severide watched them go. Taylor looked back over her shoulder and their eyes met. Her gaze was…piercing. Like a predator locking eyes with its prey. It was all he could do to stifle a shiver.

...

"Are you okay?"

He jumped at the sound of her voice. He'd been staring at Shay's locker. Shay's locker that now had Taylor's name on it. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She sat down beside him on the bench in the locker room. "You don't look fine."

"I am." He didn't want to deal with her. Not now, not ever. He started to stand, but she caught his arm and gently but firmly pulled him back down.

"Lieutenant…" She didn't take her hand off of his arm, "Please."

He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes. Instead, he stared at his hands. "…Have you ever lost someone close to you? Someone you loved more than anything or anyone else in the world? Someone whose absence has literally ripped your heart out?"

She was silent for a moment. "I have."

Frowning, he finally looked at her, "_You_ have?"

Slowly, Taylor untucked a silver chain from around her neck. On it hung a man's silver wedding band and a woman's silver wedding set. "My husband was a sheriff's deputy. He was killed in the line of duty while making a traffic stop. I was twenty-three, he was twenty-four. I have a pretty good idea of what you're talking about."

Severide looked at the rings that rested in her hand, "How did you...deal with that?"

"I didn't. I cried, oh I cried. And I screamed. And yelled. And cussed. And questioned everything I'd ever thought I knew." Taylor chuckled ruefully as the painful memories began to surface, "Broke my hand on a stud once. Got mad over Jason bein' gone and punched a wall." She sighed as she tucked the chain away, "I was drowning. Fast. And I didn't care. But, just before I went completely under, somebody who had endured a similar situation came to me just like I'm comin' to you now. They asked if I was ok, and I lied and said yes. They knew I was lyin', so they gave me their phone number and told me to call them if I needed anything at all. I lied again and said I would even though I told myself I wouldn't. Well...I came to myself one night while I was loadin' my revolver. I had intended to kill myself, honestly. But I picked up the phone instead." She realized she'd been staring at her clasped hands and looked up at him, "By the Grace of God go I. …So, I'm gonna give you my phone number. You're more than welcome to call me, text me, whatever, any time. I don't care if it's two in the morning." She pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and handed it to him.

He took it and opened it, reading her out-of-state number.

"And I'm gonna ask you to talk to me. I know you don't want to. I didn't want to. But I've been where you are and I know where you're goin'. I'd like to stop you before you get there." She stood, "It gets better, Lieutenant. It'll always be with you, but it gets better. If Shay loved you as much as you love her, I think she'd want you to be happy, not sad."

...

Taylor had made it almost all of the way back to the bay when her phone vibrated in her pocket. Slowing slightly, she fished it out and opened the text message.

_I'm sorry I've been such a jerk. Can we start over?_

She smiled, and responded with _Hi! I'm Shelby Taylor. I'm the new member of Squad 3. You can call me Shelby or Taylor, whatever suits your fancy. :)_

_Hi, Shelby. I'm Kelly Severide. I'm Squad's Lieutenant. How do you like Chicago? _

Taylor thought for a moment before replying with _I think I'm gonna like it here._

_..._

Author's Note: Yay! First chapter! Let me know what you think. Please be nice. Constructive criticism is welcome, but if you're gonna be a turd, go lay in the yard! I own this thing's plot line, and Shelby and Jason Taylor. I don't own _Chicago Fire_ or any part of NBC.


	2. Chapter 2

The knock came at eight minutes after two in the morning. Unaccustomed to such interruptions to her sleep, Taylor grabbed her Glock from the nightstand and padded silently into the living room, chambering a round as she went. She'd never shot someone before – never needed to. But, there was a first time for everything. Taking a deep breath, she looked through the peephole. What she saw made her gasp and throw the door open.

He stood in the hallway, broken, hurting, lost, half drunk, tears threatening to spill from his blue eyes.

He had come to her.

She didn't even ask him how in the world he'd found her. Instead, she sat her gun on the desk by the door, took his trembling hands, guided him to her couch, wrapped her arms around him, and held him while he sobbed. "I've got you, sweetheart." she soothed, rubbing his back with one hand. "Let it out."

Nearly an hour passed before Severide could calm himself down enough to pull away.

Taylor grabbed a couple of tissues from the end table and gently dried his tears, "Talk to me, honey."

"It hurts." he croaked, sniffling.

"I know."

"I miss her."

She wrapped the blanket from the back of the couch around his shoulders and pulled him gently back into her arms. "You always will."

Squeezing his eyes closed to stop the new tears that threatened, he laid his head on her shoulder. "Why her?"

She gave him a soft hug, "Things happen in this life that we don't understand. Sometimes it's just not our place to understand. Doesn't make the pain any easier, I know, but…everything happens for a reason. People come into and out of our lives for a reason."

"Why couldn't it have been me?"

"Because it's not your time yet. You haven't fulfilled your purpose."

"And Shay did?"

"Shay was put on this earth to save people. To do good. To be a light in a sea of darkness, an angel of mercy in this world of pain. Maybe the last requirement of her fulfilling her purpose was to bring Fifty-One closer together."

"By dying?"

"By reminding us of how precious and valuable life is. By reminding us to not take each other for granted."

He was trembling again.

"It'll get easier. It's not gonna be an overnight thing, but it'll eventually get better. The pain will always be there, but you just have to push through it and live to honor her memory. Keep Shay in your heart. Keep her in your heart of hearts. Lean on her when you need strength."

Severide nodded.

"Talk to me. Tell me about her."

He did. He started from the very beginning, and opened up completely. He told her of good times and bad. Of ups and downs. Of love and loss. He told her things and swore her to secrecy. He cried on more than one occasion. She held him through the whole thing, murmuring words of comfort when the pain became too much. The stories went well into the pre-dawn hours of the morning. Taylor listened intently, and Severide let his pain slowly drift away.

…

Severide awoke in Taylor's arms the next morning. Slowly, he forced open his swollen eyes. They were still on the couch, still wrapped in the blanket. His head rested on her shoulder, her head leaned against his. Her arms were wrapped tightly around him. Softly, her breath grazed his nose. He felt…better. For the first time since Shay's death, he'd slept through what had been left of the night. The pain was still there, but it seemed…lessened.

Taylor felt him awaken. She was horribly stiff, but that was okay. Severide had slept through the night, and that was all that mattered. "Hey." she whispered.

"Hey." Slowly, he sat up, and then helped her up.

"How do you feel?"

"Better."

She nodded, "Good."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetheart." She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and stroked his hair, "Why don't you stay with me today? You can rest and get your head together."

He considered this. "I need to tell my roommates where I am."

"Okay. I'll fix us some breakfast."

He watched her retrieve her gun from the desk and return it to what he assumed was her bedroom. He felt bad for having scared her, but he hadn't known where else to go. He fished his phone out of his pocket, but stopped short of texting Casey or Dawson. Instead, he rose slowly and located the kitchen.

Taylor was in the process of scrambling eggs. "How do you like your eggs, Lieutenant?"

"Kelly. I think we're well past formalities at this point. And, I'm not picky. Surprise me."

She smiled, suddenly embarrassed that her boss was seeing her in the yoga pants and old t-shirt that she slept in. At least she hadn't been naked. The coffee maker gurgled, reminding her to ask if he wanted anything to drink, "Coffee?"

"Please. Black."

"You can sit down." She indicated the small kitchen table.

"Do you need any help?"

"I'm good. But, thanks anyway." She chuckled, "Sorry the place is a mess. You're my first visitor."

"Brett hasn't been over here?"

"Not yet." She brought him a plateful of eggs with two pieces of buttered toast, "Don't hesitate to ask if you want more."

"Okay." He watched her pour a cup of coffee. His head was pounding. "I'm sorry I scared you last night."

"It's okay. I'm just glad you came."

"…Don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

She shook her head as she started working on her own plate, "Never. What happens here stays here."

"I do feel better." He took a bite of the eggs and was pleasantly surprised at how good they were.

"Good. It'll take time, but you'll eventually feel normal again." She dumped her eggs onto her own plate, grabbed her toast from the toaster, and poured herself a cup of coffee. As she sat down across from him, she said, "I'll be here for you until then, okay?"

"Thank you, Shelby." He meant it. He knew the guys would be and had been there for him, but somehow, knowing that Taylor was there made him feel exponentially better. Oh, he knew Casey would listen and talk to him, but he had his own issues with Dawson to deal with. "I really am sorry about how I've treated you. You've been nothing but nice to me and I've been a total jerk since day one. I've just been so…lost and hurt…but that's not an excuse."

"Kelly, it's fine. Really." She took a sip of her coffee, "All that's behind us now."

He gave her a little smile, but he still felt bad.

Taylor thought for a minute, "Happy Thanksgiving."

It was Thanksgiving. He'd lost track of time. "Happy Thanksgiving. You didn't have any plans, did you?"

"Nah. I usually watch the parade."

"No family stuff?"

"Not this year. Everybody's schedules are so crazy. My dad works nights, mom works days, my older brother works for Norfolk Southern and travels a lot, my sister's a big fancy lawyer in Atlanta, and I'm here now. Makes it hard to get together. We'll call each other, though. What about you?"

"Nothing usually. I try to work if I can, but…I guess I forgot to sign up this year."

She grinned, "Well, I guess that's a good thing; now we don't have to spend the day alone."

Severide smiled. It was a genuine smile, and the first one he'd had in a long time, "It is a good thing."

…

"You look like him."

"I do kinda." Severide looked closely at the picture of Taylor's late husband that she had sitting on the fireplace mantle. The frame was handmade from cherry wood. Jason was in his deputy uniform. Leaned against his picture was a small frame about the size of a wallet photo. In it was a piece of yellow legal pad paper with "_Love you always. – Jason_" written on it in black ink.

"He would've liked you." Taylor said, coming to stand beside her Lieutenant. "I miss him."

Severide looked down at her when he heard the tremble in her voice. One tear slid down her face, then several. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. In doing that, he realized that she was exactly Shay's height.

"I'm sorry." she sniffled, "It's been ten years, and I still miss him. He loved Thanksgiving and Christmas."

He let her pull back a little, but kept his arms around her. Gently, he wiped the tears from her face and brushed a strand of her long brownish-blonde hair behind her ear, "Jason must've been a great guy."

"He was. He really was." She sniffled again, then laughed, "Well, I guess we're even now. We've seen each other cry."

Severide chuckled and pulled her back into a gentle hug.


	3. Chapter 3

Taylor made the best bourbon chicken Severide had ever eaten. She also made him try sweet tea, which he instantly fell in love with. They spent the afternoon watching football and eating. As night came, Taylor invited him to spend the night. Severide agreed. He had extra clothes in his car, so that wouldn't be an issue. And he honestly didn't feel like going back to the apartment. So, the couch it was. She offered him the second bedroom, but he hated to dirty up sheets for just one night.

Severide had been asleep for maybe an hour when the dream started.

He was standing in total darkness, but he could see himself plain as day. Confused, he looked around, trying to get his bearings. Suddenly, a small ball of light – maybe as big as a golf ball – appeared in front of him. It began to elongate and brighten, but not in a threatening way. Slowly, the figure of a man began to take shape and materialize.

Deputy Jason Taylor suddenly stood before him. He wasn't see-through like a ghost, but solid like a man who had never died. Jason smiled and extended his hand, "Hi. I'm Jason Taylor."

Without thinking, Severide shook the outstretched hand. It felt real. "Kelly Severide."

"You're Shelby's Lieutenant."

It wasn't a question. He nodded, "I am."

Jason didn't waste time with formalities, "Shelby needs a man in her life. Not necessarily in a romantic way, but in a friend kinda way. Don't get me wrong – Sylvie's great and all, but Shelby needs somebody to look after her up here." He sighed like someone who had the weight of the world on their shoulders and looked at his feet, "I hadn't exactly planned on leaving her so soon, y'know? But, that's the risk we take when we become emergency personnel. She's done really well by herself, but…she needs a solid presence." He looked up, "Will you take care of her for me? I'm not sayin' be her boyfriend or anything, but…will you look out for her? I worry about her all the time. I can't protect her anymore. And that's a special kinda torture that words don't exist to describe. Will you keep her safe for me, Lieutenant?"

Severide didn't hesitate, "I will."

Jason shook the firefighter's hand again, "Thank you, brother."

And then he was awake again. Severide sat up and reached for his phone. Using the small bluish light that the screen emitted, he located Taylor's bedroom.

Sensing a presence, Taylor switched on the lamp that sat on her nightstand. Severide stood in her doorway. She tried unsuccessfully to ignore the fact that he was shirtless. "You can't sleep either, huh?"

"Not really."

She pulled back the blankets that covered one side of her bed and patted the mattress.

He hesitated for a moment, then went to her, climbing carefully into the warmth of the bed.

She waited until he had gotten settled before lying back down and turning the light off. "Gonna be a long shift tomorrow if we don't get some sleep."

"Yeah." He stared at the ceiling, debating on whether or not to tell her about the dream. Unlike other dreams, this one was still shockingly vivid. It hadn't really been a dream, though – it had been a visit. He shivered involuntarily. Better not say anything. Not yet, anyway. "Shelby?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks for today. This has been the best Thanksgiving I ever had."

"You're welcome. Thanks for sharing it with me."

He was silent for a long moment before asking, "Shelby?"

"Hmmm?"

"…Can I hold you?" He wasn't really sure what he'd expected, but he hadn't expected her to snuggle into his side and lay her head on his shoulder. Smiling to himself, he wrapped one arm around her and put her hand over his heart, covering it with his.

"Goodnight, Kelly."

He kissed her forehead softly, "Goodnight, Shelby."

…

"Looks like somebody's sweet on you." the delivery man smiled as he handed the bouquet over to Taylor.

"Looks like it." she said, blushing as she took the flowers from him, "Thank you." The bouquet was beautiful - three big pink hydrangeas in a blue Ball Mason jar. There was a small card tied around the neck of the jar.

The teasing started before she made it to the nearest table. "Who's it from?" Dawson asked, stealing a quick sniff.

"Well, let's see..." Carefully, she pulled the small card out of its envelope. It read:

_Thanks for everything. It really means a lot. __-Smoke_

"That's cryptic." Otis said. He and Cruz had been reading over Taylor's shoulder.

"Who's Smoke?" Cruz asked.

"A friend." Taylor answered simply, smiling to herself.

…

"Did you go to your dad's for Thanksgiving?" Casey asked, leaning against the doorframe of Severide's office.

"No." Severide answered, looking up from his paperwork. "I went to a friend's house."

Casey nodded, "I see." A "friend" usually meant a one night stand.

Severide caught the disapproving tone, "Look, Matt, I know what you're thinking. I wasn't out drinking or sleeping around. I really wasn't. I swear. I was at a friend's house."

For a long moment, Casey looked at his friend. He worried about Severide. A lot. "Okay." he finally said.

"I'm still looking for a place."

Casey shook his head, "I'm not worried about that. As long as we have a home, you have a home."

"I appreciate that, man, I really do. But you and Dawson need your own space."

He shrugged, but didn't say anything.

The lack of response confirmed Severide's suspicions. There was trouble in paradise.

"I've got paperwork to do." Casey sighed, "I'll catch you later."

"Okay."

As Casey turned to leave, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and began to text Dawson. In doing so, he almost bumped into Taylor, who was on her way up the hall, also fooling with her phone. "Whoa! Sorry, Taylor!"

"My bad, Lieutenant!" Taylor exclaimed, stepping aside to let him pass.

"Great job on that run earlier." Casey said, giving her a pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you, sir!" She was genuinely surprised and honored by the rare compliment.

"If you ever get tired of Squad, let me know."

Taylor smiled, but she wasn't sure if he was kidding or not, "Yes, sir, I will."

Casey grinned and started back up the hallway.

She knocked on the door frame of Severide's office and asked, "Lieutenant Severide? Can I talk to you about something?" in the most worried tone she could muster and loud enough so that anyone who was listening wouldn't think that something was up. That included Casey, who was at the end of the hallway now.

Severide turned to face her, "Sure, Taylor. What's up?" He did his best to sound nonchalant.

Taylor stepped into his office and closed the door behind herself, but remained standing in front of it just in case someone peeked through the open blinds. "Thank you for my flowers, Smoke."

He grinned, "Now, how do you know those are from me?"

She smiled, "You're the only person who's been in my apartment, remember? You're the only person who would know about my painting of the three pink hydrangea blooms in the blue Mason jar."

His grin turned into a full blown smile, "I thought you'd like them."

"I do. Very much."

"Good. And I really appreciate what you did for me." He paused before continuing, "You saved my life."

She waved a hand dismissively, "Oh, Kelly. I didn't do anything."

"You did. You listened. You made me talk. You shared your experience with me. You let me stay with you. You fed me. You gave me a place to sleep. Twice. You let me sleep in _your_ bed. With _you_." He took her hands in his, "I was in a really, really dark place. You're the only thing that's been able to pull me out."

She blushed, "I'm just glad I could help."

He stood and closed the blinds. "Shelby, you saved my life. Remember that rock-bottom moment you told me about?"

Taylor nodded, suddenly aware of exactly how close he was to her. Which was stupid – she had slept beside him less than twelve hours ago!

"I was having mine when I came to you that night."

"Then I'm _really_ glad you came." She looked up at him and found herself captivated by his blue eyes, which had darkened slightly.

"Me, too." He gently smoothed down a couple of her flyaway hairs, which were no doubt caused by her helmet. "Shelby?"

"Yes?"

"Can I…kiss you?" Holy crap! Did he really just ask that?! What was he thinking! Taylor was gonna think he was a douche!

Instead of being offended, she gave him a shy smile, "I'd like that."

Relieved, he smiled and carefully closed the distance between them. Her arms slid around his neck as his arms wrapped gently around her waist. She fit against him perfectly. Severide felt desire flare deep within as he slowly lowered his lips to Taylor's, giving her time to back out if she wanted to. When she didn't, he kissed her. It was the softest, most tender kiss he'd ever shared with anyone.

Taylor's body was on fire. Was this a dream? Was she really kissing her Lieutenant? Before her mind had time to properly process the event, he ended the kiss slowly. As she opened her eyes, he stroked her cheek.

"You'd better go." he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. "I don't want to get you in trouble."

"Okay."

He kissed her forehead and released her. His heart was racing. He wanted her. Badly. But, he couldn't do that. He couldn't afford to mess this up. Taylor was the best thing to happen to him since Shay. He couldn't lose her, too.

Taylor paused at the door, "Kelly?"

"Yeah?"

"Come home with me tonight."

…

Author's Note: Just wanted to say thanks to goldistic for being my very first follower! Thanks to Sarrabr4 for being my first reviewer! And thanks to RBCFCPD7410 for the review and follow!


	4. Chapter 4

Severide found himself going to Taylor's apartment daily. They weren't dating or anything, but they had become really close friends. It was nice to have someone to talk to and hang out with. It kept him from drinking. It kept him from drowning in the darkness that still threatened to envelop him. It kept him sane. The best part was that once they got to work, it was back to business as usual. To the others, it looked as if their relationship had improved some, but that was all.

As Severide was leaving his office and heading for the bay, Casey caught him in the hallway.

"You seem better." Casey said.

He couldn't help but grin a little, "I am. I've been talking to someone."

"Good." Casey crossed his arms over his chest, "Who'd you talk to?"

Words were chosen very carefully now. "A friend. From out of town."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. My friend's spouse was killed in the line of duty."

Casey searched his friend's face quickly, looking for any signs of deceit. Severide's eyes were clearer than he'd seen them in a long time. "Well, I hate that your friend lost someone, but I'm glad that whoever it is was willing to help you out."

"Yeah, me too. I didn't like where I was headed." Severide started for the bay again and Casey fell into step with him. As they reached the door, they found a small group clustered around Taylor, who was tuning her guitar.

"You don't have to sing the whole thing." Taylor was saying to Brett, "Just do the backup vocals."

Brett, whose face was bright red, reluctantly agreed, "Okay, but I suck."

"We'll see." Taylor smiled, finding the chord she wanted. She began playing, looking down at her guitar as soon as she realized that both Lieutenants and Chief Boden were in the bay. She took a deep breath and they began:

"You've got someone here  
>Wants to make it all right<br>Someone that loves you more  
>Than life right here<br>You've got willing arms that'll hold you tight  
>A hand to lead you on through the night right here<br>I know your heart can get  
>All tangled up inside<br>But don't you keep it to yourself

When your long day is over  
>And you can barely drag your feet<br>The weight of the world  
>Is on your shoulders<br>I know what you need  
>Bring it on home to me<p>

You know I know you  
>Like the back of my hand<br>And you know I'm gonna do  
>All that I can right here<br>I'm gonna lie with you  
>Till you fall asleep<br>When the morning comes  
>I'm still gonna be right here<br>Oh yes, I am

Take your worries and  
>Just drop them at the door<br>Baby, leave it all behind  
>When your long day is over<br>And you can barely drag your feet  
>The weight of the world<br>Is on your shoulders  
>I know what you need<br>Bring it on home to me

Baby, let me be your safe harbor  
>Don't let the water come<br>And carry you away

When your long day is over  
>And you can barely drag your feet<br>The weight of the world  
>Is on your shoulders<br>I know what you need  
>Bring it on home to me<br>Oh bring it on home  
>Yeah, bring it on home to me<br>Home to me  
>Oh, bring it on, bring it on home to me<p>

You've got someone here wants  
>To make it all right<br>Someone that loves you more  
>Than life…right here."<p>

The entire house exploded into applause. Both Taylor and Brett blushed as they smiled.

"Okay, you two _have_ to perform at Molly's!" Dawson said.

"Oh, I couldn't -" Brett started.

"Please?" Cruz pleaded, working his magic on the blonde medic.

Brett looked to Taylor, who shrugged, "We could do it once."

"Live music." Herrmann smiled, "I like that idea."

Taylor looked up and met Severide's gaze. He winked at her and shot her a quick smile. He would be texting her shortly.

Herrmann didn't get a chance to say anything else, though – the tones dropped, sending the entire house scrambling.

…

Author's Note: I don't own the song I just used. I wish I did, 'cause it's one of my favorites. It's called "Bring it on Home" by Little Big Town. And – you guessed it – it's the inspiration for this fic. If you've never heard the song, here's the YouTube link: /8l4AC5rUSUo. Even if you don't like country music, at least listen to it so you'll get the gist of Taylor and Brett's "performance".

Thanks to AstroStarr and goldistic for the favorite! Thanks to Sarrabr4 and RBCFCPD7410 for the reviews! And thanks to Naleyfan-2215, lilangel120, and GloryDays1984 for the favorites and follows!


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you going to the Christmas party tomorrow?" Severide asked, slowly running his fingertips up and down Taylor's arm. They were snuggled up in her bed, as had become their regular routine.

"I don't know." Taylor answered, tracing his collarbone back and forth with one finger, "I'm not real big on social gatherings. I don't have a date, anyway."

"You could be my date."

She raised herself up onto one elbow so that she could properly discuss this. In the dim light cast by her bedside lamp, he looked even hotter lying there beside her, shirtless as usual. "Seriously?"

He shrugged, "Sure. Why not? You have a dress, right?"

"I hope I can still wear it."

"I'm sure you can. If not, we'll go get you one." He gave her his most convincing smile, "What do you say? Date?"

Taylor smiled. She had just been asked on an official date. By her Lieutenant. Her _hot_ Lieutenant. "Date."

"Good." He pulled her gently back into his arms. She fit snugly against his side, and her cheek felt good against his chest. He replayed their kiss from the other day in his mind. She hadn't said anything about it since it had happened. He hoped he hadn't been too forward. It _had_ been an amazing kiss, though…

His firm chest was deliciously warm and quite comforting. It felt so good to be wrapped up in his arms. She hadn't been this intimate with a man since Jason had died. She hadn't even done so much as gone on a date, much less this. But, somehow she felt like Jason would be okay with her being with Severide. She listened to the steady beat of his heart for several minutes before speaking again. "Kelly?"

"Hmmm?"

She'd wanted to ask him this for a while now. And now that the moment had come, she was nervous. "Will you move in with me?"

He didn't respond right away. It would make sense. He was here more than he was at Casey and Dawson's. And they needed their own space, especially right now. He wanted to ask her something, too. He'd wanted to ask for a while, but he was oddly afraid to. Now was as good a time as any, though. "I will on one condition."

Taylor propped herself up again, somewhat terrified of what the condition might be. "What's that?"

He took a breath. It was now or never. "I've had a lot of bad things happen in my life. Especially lately. But, for the first time in a long time, something good has happened to me. Something good and honest and…something I don't want to lose to anyone else. You don't have to give me an answer right now – think about it as long as you need to. …I'll move in with you, but…I wanted to know if…" Why was he having so much trouble speaking? "I wanted to know if you would…want to…be…my girlfriend?"

She was silent and still for an agonizingly long minute. Then, a smile slowly spread across her face. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

He was stunned, "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." He laughed and pulled her into a hug, "I've wanted to ask you that for a while now."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

She smiled as she settled into the strength of his embrace, "I'm glad you asked me."

Softly, he kissed her hair, "Me, too."

…

Severide checked his watch impatiently for the umpteenth time. "Shelby? Are you ready yet?" he called. They were going to be late. "Women." he grumbled, plopping down onto the couch.

"Okay, I give up." Taylor said, hurrying out of the bathroom. "Can you zip me?"

"Yeah." What he saw when he stood up and turned around made him stop dead in his tracks.

She wore a floor-length fire truck red dress that fit her just right. It didn't show off too much, but man was she smokin' hot in it. She was wearing black heels, which kept the dress from actually touching the floor. She'd put a few loose curls into her hair, which spilled over her shoulders and down her back. She was wearing makeup, too. Not a lot, but enough to be appropriate for such an event. It occurred to Severide that he'd never seen her dressed up before.

"What?" she asked as she put on a necklace that had a small black teardrop-shaped crystal hanging from it. He was staring at her, mouth agape.

The question jolted him back to reality. "Wow." he managed, quickly closing the space between them. Carefully, he moved her hair out of the way and finished zipping her dress. She was wearing perfume. Not a lot, but whatever it was, he liked it. "You look amazing." he murmured, softly kissing the back of her neck.

"You don't look too bad yourself." she smiled, turning around to face him. She straightened his tie, which – along with his pocket square – matched her dress perfectly. He wore a black suit and black button-up shirt beneath the suit's jacket. She suddenly found herself wanting very much to slowly unbutton that shirt and kiss the skin that the buttons had rested against. "My handsome Lieutenant." she said, kissing him tenderly.

Severide returned it and pulled her against him, deepening the kiss. "You're gonna get yourself in trouble." he said as they came up for air, his voice husky with desire.

Taylor gave him a mischievous grin, "Oh really?"

"Mm-hmm." He hungrily brushed his lips over hers again, "C'mon. I wanna show you off."

…

Severide took great pleasure in the looks of astonishment and - dare he say - envy that followed him as he escorted Taylor to the table where several other members of Firehouse 51 sat. Taylor grinned at him when he pulled her chair out for her.

"Oh my gosh, you look _amazing_!" Brett gushed, leaning over to hug Taylor.

"Have you seen yourself, hot stuff?" Taylor laughed.

Brett blushed a little as she smiled. She wore a strapless black gown that matched Cruz's black suit.

"I'm gonna go get us some drinks." Severide said, gently touching Taylor's shoulder.

"Okay." she replied, smiling up at him.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Dawson turned to Taylor, "How did you pull _that_ off? I thought he hated you!"

Taylor shrugged nonchalantly, "I got skills, honey."

Casey gave her a look that made her wonder if he knew. But, he couldn't know! Brett didn't even know yet!

Severide returned with their drinks and sat down beside Taylor. Casually, he draped his arm across the back of her chair.

"Hey, can somebody take our picture?" Taylor asked, pulling her cell phone from her tiny black formal purse, "My brother bet me twenty bucks that I couldn't still wear this dress."

As the others laughed, Cruz reached for the phone. "Stand up - I want to get the whole dress."

"Thanks Joe." Taylor stood, pulling on Severide's arm as she did.

"Oh, no-" he started, but Taylor gave him a pitiful look.

"Please, Lieutenant?" she pleaded.

He sighed and stood up. Wondering what she would do, he put one arm around her waist and pulled her gently against his side. Not missing a beat, she put one arm around him.

Cruz snapped the picture and returned her phone. Severide sat back down quickly.

"Anybody else want a picture?" Taylor asked.

"No, thanks." Casey said.

"Will you take ours?" Brett asked.

"Sure." The smile on Cruz's face was priceless. Taylor snapped the picture quickly, not wanting to miss the moment. She returned to her seat and handed Brett the phone.

"I love it!" Brett returned the phone, "Send it to me?"

"Sure." Taylor quickly attached the picture to a text message and sent it to Brett. She could feel Severide watching her as she sent their picture to her brother.

Conversations began and other members of 51 began to take seats at their table and at the surrounding tables.

Taylor's phone buzzed beneath her hand. The name _Luke_ was displayed on the screen with _Text_ _Message_ below it. "That's my brother."

"What'd he say?" Brett asked, scooting close to her friend.

Taylor opened the message, aware of Severide shifting just enough to where he could also read the text. It said: _Gorgeous, sis. Still can't believe you're old enough to dress like that. Lol, guess I owe you $20, huh?_

"Aww." Brett smiled.

Taylor also smiled as she attached the picture of Brett and Cruz to her reply. _Thanks. :) I'll be watching for the check in the mail, lol. This pic is of my best friend, Sylvie, and her date, Joe. Sylvie is one of our medics on Ambulance 61, and Joe is our engineer on Truck 81._

She sent the message and waited for the reply. Every now and then, she could feel Severide's fingers brushing across her shoulder blade. It was a small movement, but it was a display of affection nonetheless. Her phone vibrated again. She opened it, feeling Severide shift a little again.

_They're cute. Who's the guy with you? He's got that arm awful tight around you. Boyfriend? _

Typical Luke. He'd always been over-protective of his baby sister.

_That's my Lieutenant. _She waited a moment for dramatic effect, then added another message_, And, yes, he's my boyfriend. Don't tell mom and dad. You're the only person who knows. I haven't even told Sylvie yet._

Several seconds passed before the reply came.

_Shelby, I swear, if he does so much as make you shed one single tear, no one will ever find his body._

Severide's fingers froze in place on her shoulder.

Taylor rolled her eyes at the text, trying to ease Severide's concern. _Luke. Calm down. He won't hurt me. I know that for sure. _

A gentle squeeze on her arm let her know he'd read her reply and approved. She sent the message and turned her attention back to the table.

…

The evening continued pleasantly until the time came for the small tribute to Shay.

Taylor held Severide's hand through the whole thing, not caring who saw them. The sheriff's department had done something similar to this at the Christmas dinner after Jason's death. It was a hard thing to endure even if it was done with the best of intentions. He held her hand so tightly that he almost cut off her circulation. He was trembling, but not enough to be noticed by anyone but her. As pictures of Shay cycled across the screen, she saw his eyes moisten and his breathing become uneven. He was trying to hold it together.

She rubbed his hand with her free hand, trying to comfort him. She leaned into him and whispered, "I've got you."

As she spoke, a picture of Shay and Severide scrolled across the screen. It was too much. Severide stood quickly and headed out of the room to the nearest hallway. Taylor gathered her dress in both hands and followed him.

Casey looked at Dawson, then followed Taylor.

One by one, the members of 51 got up and followed Casey.

They found him sitting on the floor, his back against a wall, face buried in Taylor's shoulder, clinging to her. She was on her knees beside him, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

"I'm sorry." Severide managed, "I thought I could stand it..."

"It's okay, baby." Taylor murmured, beginning to rub his back. She felt her shoulder dampen as a few tears escaped him. "I've got you. It's okay."

Casey knelt on Severide's other side, his suspicions confirmed on who his friend's "friend from out of town" was. But, he wasn't about to say anything right now. Instead, he put his hand on Severide's shoulder.

Brett sat down beside Taylor, and Cruz knelt beside Brett. Chief Boden knelt behind Taylor. Some of the others sat down, some remained standing, but everyone got as close as they could to Severide.

"We're all here for you, Sev." Casey said.

"Thanks, guys." Severide sniffed, wiping his face as he slowly pulled away from Taylor. "I'm sorry. I thought I could get through that, but...obviously not."

"It's alright, Severide." Chief Boden said.

"I cried like a baby when the sheriff's department did a memorial for my husband at their Christmas dinner." Taylor offered. "At least you made it out of the room."

Severide chuckled and took her hand, "Well, since everyone is here, I'd like to say something."

Taylor's heart dropped. Was he going to tell everyone about them?

"I want to apologize for the way I've been acting lately. It's not right, it's not safe, and it's not fitting for a Lieutenant. I've been heading nowhere fast, and it's been affecting the house. So, I'm sorry for being an unreliable, hungover, reckless jerk. I've been getting help. A _lot_ of help. And I'm getting better. It's gonna take a while, but I _am_ getting back to normal." He sighed, "I'll probably have episodes like this for a little while longer. So, bear with me, okay?"

Casey squeezed Severide's shoulder, "Hey, we're family at Fifty-One. We stick together no matter what. We've got your back."

...

Author's Note: I also own Taylor's brother, Luke.


	6. Chapter 6

CAUTION: This chapter is one of the reasons why this fic is rated M. If you have a problem with adult content, I suggest you skip over to the next chapter. You have been warned.

…

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you earlier."

"Baby, you did _not_ embarrass me."

"I feel like I did."

"You didn't." She kissed his neck, "I promise. I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you." He hugged her, "You're the best."

She smiled and began to run her hand slowly over his chest.

"That feels good." He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her hand gliding over him. It felt good to hold her. Holding her calmed him down. Holding her made him forget – even if it was just for a minute – all of his worries and problems. It was hard to believe that he couldn't stand to be around her a little over a month ago.

She kissed his neck again and let her caresses expand to his stomach. She loved how his toned torso felt beneath her fingers. Carefully, she traced around his muscles.

She was wearing a cami tonight instead of her usual t-shirt. It was all he could do to resist the urge to trace one of the thin straps up her back and over her shoulder, and then follow the low neckline across her breasts. He wanted her. Badly.

Taylor's fingers brushed against the waistband of his sweatpants.

Severide couldn't help but tremble at her touch. By now, he was so hard it literally hurt. He knew she had to feel his desire pressing into her stomach. His breathing became slightly ragged as she continued her laps. "You're gonna get yourself in trouble."

This made her grin, "Really?"

"Mmm-hmm." His heart was racing. She had to feel that, too. She dipped one finger below the waistband of his boxers, and his heart stopped. "Shelby…"

"You can touch me." Taylor whispered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Carefully, he followed one strap of her cami up her back and over her slender shoulder. Goosebumps rose on her skin as his finger followed the baby pink neckline of the top across her breasts. He traced back across, down her arm, and took her hand, guiding it to the heat between them.

Taylor totally bypassed his sweatpants and boxers. She wrapped her fingers around his length and began to gently stroke him.

Severide groaned, barely managing to keep himself together. He slid one hand under her top and up to her chest. He loved the way she moaned as he explored the soft swells of her breasts. After a few minutes, he let his hand drift down her stomach. She didn't stop him when he passed the waistbands of her yoga pants and panties, but paused just for a moment to make sure he wasn't about to do something she didn't want him to do. No resistance came, so he continued.

"Kelly…" Taylor groaned as he slid one finger inside her.

Again, he barely managed to keep it together. He stroked her slowly, not wanting to go too far. It didn't take long for her to start squirming.

"Kelly, please…"

"Please what, baby?"

"You know what."

Indeed he did. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Slowly, he removed his finger and her hand before quickly stripping. He took pleasure in carefully removing her clothes and admiring her slender frame. "Do you have any condoms?"

"Don't need 'em." she replied, "I can't get pregnant."

That made life easy. He gently rubbed the head of his aching cock against her wetness, eliciting a soft moan from her. "Tell me if you want me to stop, okay? I don't want to hurt you."

She nodded, bracing herself.

Slowly, he pushed into her. The way she moaned as he did let him know she was far from being hurt. She was soaking wet, deliciously warm, and so tight he was sure she'd only been with one man. He stopped when his hips met hers, giving her time to adjust to him.

Her hands slid up his stomach and across his chest. She could feel his heart thundering against her hands. He felt so good inside her, filling her up completely. She wanted more, though. She wanted to feel him moving inside of her. She wanted to feel his impressive length pounding into her. "Kelly…"

"What baby?" He leaned down and kissed her softly.

"Take me." she whispered into his ear.

Severide didn't need to be told twice. He started out slowly, trying to draw it out even though he knew neither of them would last very long. She felt so good. No woman had ever felt this good. She moved her hips just a little, and he sank even farther into her.

Taylor moaned and writhed in pleasure beneath him as he quickened the pace. She took one of his hands and guided it to her chest. "Harder, baby…"

He happily obliged. He hit something deep inside her, making her gasp. Immediately, he froze. "Did I hurt you?"

"No. I don't know what you hit, but keep hitting it."

Relieved, he smiled and continued. He wanted this to be good for her. She captured him in a passionate kiss just as he hit the spot again, making her dig her fingers into his back. Three hits later, she tightened up on him so hard he could barely move.

"Kelly!" she cried as her orgasm rolled over her in waves.

He couldn't hold out any longer. Ramming himself deep into her quivering depths, he came.

She could feel him throbbing inside of her, filling her with his release. Her own body still trembled from the best orgasm she'd ever had. Still buried in her, chest heaving, he looked down at her and smiled. She pulled him down on top of her and held him while they caught their breath.

It was by far the best sex he'd ever had. Reluctantly, Severide rolled onto his side and pulled Taylor into his arms. He smiled as she snuggled into him and rested his chin against the top of her head. "That was amazing." he panted.

"It was."

He kissed her hair and reached for a blanket to cover them with.

Softly, she kissed his chest as he tucked the blanket around her, "Kelly?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

He kissed the top of her head again, tightened his arms around her, and closed his eyes.

…

Author's Note: Thanks to goldistic and RBCFCPD7410 for the reviews! Also, thanks to my guest reviewer!


	7. Chapter 7

Fire raged all around them as Taylor and Severide carefully picked their way through the first floor of the abandoned apartment building. Someone had thought there might be homeless people inside, so Squad 3 was checking every floor. Newhouse and Capp were currently on the second floor.

"Fire department – call out!" Severide shouted as they searched another apartment.

The roof above them creaked loudly.

"Lieutenant, I don't like this." Taylor said.

"Yeah, let's get out of here." As they turned to leave, the ceiling gave another horrific creak. Severide looked up just in time to see the wood begin to splinter. "Shelby!" He shoved her out of the way as the roof collapsed.

Taylor screamed as the floor gave way beneath her from the weight of the collapsed ceiling. Wood and debris pummeled her as she tumbled downward into oblivion.

…

_Beeee-rrrr-eeeee-op! Beeee-rrrr-eeeee-op! Beeee-rrrr-eeeee-op!_

"_TAYLOR! SEVERIDE! REPORT!_" Chief Boden yelled into the radio.

Taylor groaned as she regained consciousness. She was covered in smoldering wood and trash and…a gross old wingback chair. Her left forearm hurt. A lot. She knew it was broken – that was the same feeling she'd had when she'd fallen out of a tree stand at age 8. How badly it was broken, she wasn't sure, but she didn't have time to worry about that. Distantly, she could hear one of the engines giving the two horn blasts that were the universal signal to get the hell outta Dodge.

_Beeee-rrrr-eeeee-op! Beeee-rrrr-eeeee-op! Beeee-rrrr-eeeee-op!_

She wiggled enough to silence her PASS alarm, then hit her radio, "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Man down! I repeat, man down! We're in the basement!" Summoning strength, she pushed her way out of the pile and onto the concrete floor. Ignoring her arm, she located her Hallagan bar and headed for the sound of Severide's alarm.

_Beeee-rrrr-eeeee-op! Beeee-rrrr-eeeee-op! Beeee-rrrr-eeeee-op!_

"Kelly!" she shouted, pulling splintered lumber off of the spot where the alarm squealed the loudest. "Kelly, answer me!" Using her Hallagan bar for leverage, she pushed away a large chunk of what had been the second story's floor, and a limp arm fell toward her. She had found him. Now all she had to do was dig him out. She was digging and pushing so frantically that she didn't notice the other firefighter beside her until he started pushing things off of the pile, finally revealing Severide's motionless body.

"I've got them, Fifty-One!" he said into his radio, "One down, one up!" He looked at Taylor, "I think we can pull him out."

"Okay." She took one arm, and he took the other. Together, they pulled Severide out of the tangled mess.

"Copy that." Boden said, "I'm sending in Herrmann and Casey."

"Negative, Chief." the firefighter said, "I've got them. We're heading out the back. Have Ambo Sixty-One meet us back there." Without missing a beat, he hoisted Severide up onto his shoulders as if he weighed nothing. "C'mon, Taylor, let's get out of here!"

"Copy that!"

Just before they got to the basement door, the mysterious firefighter stopped, "I know you're hurt, Taylor, but can you take him from here? I noticed the boilers are gas; I'm gonna make sure they're turned off all the way."

"Yeah, I can take him." As they transferred Severide, Taylor got her first decent look at her rescuer, "Thank you."

"Any time." He clapped her shoulder, then turned and hurried over to the ancient boilers.

Quickly, Taylor ran through the open basement door and into the small back yard. Weakening under the weight of her Lieutenant, she sank to her knees in the grass and lowered him to the ground. Wasting no time, she removed her helmet and mask, then went to work removing his gear. He still hadn't moved. "Kelly? Can you hear me?"

His head fell to the side when she removed his helmet, mask, and hood.

Taylor flung her gloves off and checked for signs of life. No breathing. No pulse. "No. No! Nonononono!" Ignoring the heat that singed her fingers, she tore open his coat and started CPR. "_No_, Kelly! You do _not_ get to die on me!" She was giving him a breath when Mills and Brett rounded the building with Dawson and Casey in tow. "C'mon, Kelly." She started chest compressions again. Her broken arm screamed in protest, but she shut it out. "Kelly, please!"

Casey pulled Taylor off of Severide so that Dawson, Mills, and Brett could go to work. "Taylor, are you alright?"

"Left arm's broke." Taylor tried to pull away as Dawson said something about getting a weak pulse and intubated Severide. "I'll live. I need to go with Kelly."

"You need to go to the hospital." Casey said, barely managing to hold her back as Mills, Dawson, and Brett loaded Severide onto the stretcher.

"Sir, with all due respect, ain't that where he's goin'?"

She had a point. "Let another crew take you."

"But-"

"That's an order, Taylor."

…

Author's Note: Thanks to Sarrabr4 for the reviews! Also, thanks to TheIrishShipperholic and RBCFCPD7410 for the reviews! And thanks to all of you who continue to read my stuff! My traffic charts make me happy. :)


	8. Chapter 8

The waiting room was completely silent. Taylor fiddled absentmindedly with the cast on her left forearm. Brett reached over and took her hand, making Taylor realize that she'd been picking little pieces off of the end of her cast.

"He pushed me out of the way." Taylor said quietly, breaking the silence. "He saw the ceiling giving in and he pushed me out of the way. That's the only reason why I'm not where he is."

Trying to comfort her friend, Brett put her arm around Taylor and pulled her close.

"I don't know if I could've gotten him out in time if that guy hadn't helped me. …I don't even know who he is." She looked up at her crew, "I'd like to give him a proper thank-you. I caught a glimpse of the back of his coat. It said 'A. Darden'. Do you guys know what house he's from?"

The looks she got made her think that maybe she'd asked the wrong question.

"Taylor…" Chief Boden slowly started, "Andy Darden was from _our_ house. He died in the line of duty two years ago."

Taylor's face paled as she pulled slowly away from Brett. "But, Chief, he was there. I swear he was. He helped me get Kelly out! He carried him to the door! _You_ talked to him on the radio!"

Boden looked at her closely, "I did?"

"Sure as I'm sittin' here! He told you he'd found us and that Kelly was hurt. 'One up, one down.' Remember?"

"That was him?"

"Yes, Sir."

Boden sat back in his chair, stunned. A shiver went through the room. Some of the men crossed themselves.

Taylor looked skyward, "Lord, thank You for sending that angel to help me." Her phone buzzed frantically in her pocket. With some difficulty, she located it and swiped her thumb across the screen to answer it. "Hey, Luke." she said, standing and heading toward a corner for some privacy.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked, his voice hinting at panic.

"I'm fine. The roof fell in on us and took us through to the basement. Broke my arm, but it's clean. It's not even as bad as the time I fell out of the tree stand."

"I'm trying to get a flight to Chicago. I should be there in the morning."

"You don't have to do that. Will your boss even let you leave?"

"I've already cleared it with him. I'm at the airport right now. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. We're just…" She had to pause as emotion welled up within her, "We're just waiting to hear about my Lieutenant."

"Your boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"…Was he with you?"

She leaned against the wall, struggling to make her words come out evenly, "He pushed me out of the way when the ceiling fell. If he hadn't…"

"How bad is he, Shel?"

"Bad. He wasn't breathing when we got him out. He had to be intubated. …They shocked him twice on the way here. …I don't know what the extent of his injuries are." The room began to blur as tears gathered in her eyes.

Luke was silent for a moment, "I wish you'd come home, Shelby. This firefighter stuff is too dangerous. The whole family worries about you."

Anger flared within Taylor. She'd heard this speech since she was eighteen, and she was done with it. "Come home to what, Luke? To an empty house? To my husband's grave? Come home so people can tell me they knew I wouldn't last in Chicago? I'm not coming home. I'm not leaving my crew. I'm not leaving my squad. And I'm not quitting my job."

"Shelby, it's just a job-"

"_Just_ a job? I am a _firefighter_! That's not a job, Luke, that's what I _am_! It's all I've ever wanted to be! I _literally_ _don't_ know how to do anything else! I love what I do."

"It's too dangerous."

"It's a lot safer than it used to be." She took a deep breath, calming herself, "Luke, I love you, I love Catherine, and I love mom and dad, but this is my home now. This is my life now. I love my life. I love my crew. I love my job. Yeah, I could get hurt. You could get hurt just as easily out there with the railroad. I'm not gonna stop doing what I love."

He was silent for a long time. "I'll be there in the morning, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you, kid."

"Love you, too."

The line went dead. She sighed heavily and returned her phone to her pocket. Everyone was looking at her when she turned around. Great. "Sorry you guys had to hear that." She returned to her seat, embarrassed that everyone had heard her outburst.

"Big brother?" Brett asked.

Taylor nodded, "Yeah. He's just worried about me." She shifted uncomfortably, "My family doesn't exactly approve of my career choice."

"Takes a lotta guts to stand up to your family." Herrmann said.

Mouch shrugged, "They might not like it, but we're glad you're a firefighter."

Taylor smiled, "Thanks, guys."

As she spoke, a doctor entered the waiting room. His face looked grim.

…

Author's Note: I also own Taylor's brother (Luke) and sister (Catherine). Thanks to RBCFCPD7410 and Sarrabr4 for the reviews, and thanks to TheIrishShipperholic for the favorite and review! Thanks also to noerle for the follow!


	9. Chapter 9

Taylor remained at her post beside Severide's hospital bed. It was day number four. She'd left him alone each day only long enough to take a quick shower. Luke had arrived the morning after the accident. He'd brought her a week's worth of clothing from her apartment. Presently, he had gone out to get their supper.

Severide had been taken off of the ventilator that morning. So far, he was breathing fine on oxygen. His right leg was broken, right shoulder had been dislocated, several ribs were cracked, one of his lungs had collapsed in the fall and had needed to be re-inflated, he had bruised organs, a concussion…the list went on.

Taylor had refused to leave his side since she had been allowed – after a lengthy argument with his doctor – into his room in the ICU. Brett had stayed with her the first night. Taylor told her about her relationship with her Lieutenant and swore her to secrecy.

There was a firefighter from Austin House 105 currently stationed outside of the door. The entire city's fire department was taking shifts standing watch over their fallen comrade.

Thunder rolled outside and rain pounded against the window. It was rare to have a thunderstorm this late in the year. It matched her mood perfectly.

It was hard to look at him lying there all bruised, battered, and bandaged, various wires and tubes dangling around his body. She looked at the monitor on the wall, reading his vital signs and watching the various cardiac displays. He was improving, albeit slowly. His heart rate was much better than it had been yesterday.

Carefully, she leaned against his bed and rested her head on the pillow beside his. "I'm still here, baby." she whispered, sliding her hand under his and entwining their fingers. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

…

_You can do this. You _have_ to do this. For her._

Summoning strength from deep within, he made himself move. He made himself close his hand around hers.

Taylor's eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly, unsure if she had been dreaming or not. She hadn't been. Severide had closed his hand around hers. "Kelly?"

He forced his eyes to open and his vision to clear. She was leaning over him, looking like she was about to cry. "Shelby." he rasped, his voice hoarse and dry.

Taylor lost it. Sobbing, she buried her face in his neck, thanking God that he was awake and alive.

"It's okay, baby girl." he soothed, blinking back his own tears. "We're okay. Everything's gonna be fine now."

She managed to get herself together enough to kiss him softly. "I was so scared." she whispered, leaning her forehead against his. A couple of her tears spilled onto his cheek.

"I was, too." He waited until she had returned to her chair before he spoke again, "I didn't say anything back."

She frowned, "What?"

"I didn't say anything back the other night when you told me you loved me."

"Oh." She looked down, trying to act like she hadn't been hurt by his lack of reply from their night of intimacy.

He squeezed her hand, making her look at him. "I love you. I'm sorry it took me so long to say it. …I almost didn't _get_ to say it. …I love you, Shelby. I really do."

She smiled and kissed him gently, "I love you, too, Kelly."

He looked closely at her, "You haven't slept."

It wasn't a question. "I can't. Every time I close my eyes, I see you lying there…" Her voice broke and she had to stop.

He squeezed her hand again, "Don't think about that any more, okay? We're alive. We're okay. That's all that matters."

She nodded, sniffling.

"Will you tell me what happened?"

"I will. Would you like a drink first?"

"Please."

…

Severide spent another two weeks in the hospital. He was moved to a regular room three days after he woke up, which was where they spent Christmas and began the new year. The doctors and nurses were stunned at his progress. A person with injuries like his should be spending months in the hospital, not weeks. But, he defied the odds day after day. Currently, he was sitting on the edge of his bed by his own power, wearing an old t-shirt and sweatpants that Luke had brought for him from Taylor's apartment. He was waiting to be discharged.

"Are you sure you feel up to going home?" the nurse asked as she removed his IV ports.

"No offense, but I hate hospitals." Severide gave her one of his trademark smiles, "And I'll be in good hands."

Taylor smiled from her usual spot beside his bed.

"I've never seen anything like you before, Lieutenant." the nurse continued. "Most people would've been killed. Or at least paralyzed. And yet, here you are, ready to go home three weeks after your accident. What's your secret?"

At this, his smile softened and he reached for Taylor's hand. "It's amazing what the love of a good woman will do for a man."

Taylor blushed and squeezed his hand gently.

The nurse looked at Taylor and smiled. "You know she's been by your side since the minute you were brought to ICU, don't you?"

Severide nodded, "I could hear her talking to me. Even when I wasn't…awake…I could hear her talking." He looked at Taylor, "And singing. And praying." _And crying._ he silently added.

She smiled and looked down at her feet.

"Better hang on to her." The nurse cleaned up after herself and headed for the door.

"I intend to." Severide quietly replied.

"Could you really hear me?" Taylor asked, her voice oddly small.

"I heard every word you said. …Look at me, baby."

She obliged.

"Don't ever cry like that again, okay?"

"You heard me?"

"I did."

She bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes, "I thought you were gonna..."

"For a minute, I thought so, too." he replied honestly, "…I need to tell you something, Shelby."

She frowned slightly, "What?"

"Remember the second night I stayed with you? The night neither of us could sleep?"

She nodded.

He took a slow breath before continuing, "Jason came to me that night. I can't call it a dream because it was too real. He was worried about you. I promised him I'd take care of you."

Now she was crying. Even in death, Jason was still trying to take care of her. "I have to tell you something, too. …Shay visited me that night. She was really worried about you. She knew you were taking things really hard, and she wanted me to help you. I promised her I'd do everything in my power to help you, and I promised her that I'd take care of you."

Despite his best efforts, tears spilled onto his cheeks. He knew that Shay was watching over him, but he'd had no idea that she had gone to these lengths to make sure that he was taken care of.

Taylor moved from her chair to his bed and put her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her, and they held each other in silence for several minutes. "We're gonna be okay."

"Yeah."

"I love you, Kelly Severide."

"I love you, Shelby Taylor."

…

Author's Note: Thanks to Sarrabr4 and RBCFCPD7410 for the reviews, and to asia2802 and xx GoTtA lOvE lOvE sToRiEs xx for the follows!


	10. Chapter 10

They had exactly one hour before they needed to get up and get ready for work. Today was their first day back. Recovery had been a long, slow process. Worker's Comp had covered everything this time, which was a blessing. It had been an especially big relief for Taylor, who hadn't had enough personal and sick time to cover the weeks that she'd had to take off to not only recover from her own injury but to take care of him as well.

Severide tightened his arms around his sleeping lover. She had taken such good care of him. He wondered if taking care of him while recovering from her broken arm would have consequences somewhere down the road.

He was lucky to have her. …No, not lucky. Good women like her didn't come into a man's life by luck. Especially not a man like him. She had come into his life suddenly, completely rocked his world, pulled him out of a deep, dark hole, stolen his heart, and tended his wounds. She was a blessing, not luck.

Taylor kissed his chest softly, "Mornin'."

"Morning." He kissed the top of her head.

"Has the alarm gone off yet?"

"Not yet."

"Good." She snuggled into him, "Can we just stay here forever?"

He smiled, "I wish."

"How much trouble do you think we'll be in?"

He frowned, "For what?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone knows about us now."

"So?"

"We need to be open and honest about it. I don't want to be like Dawson and Casey. That's no way to live."

"Yeah. I don't want to hide this." He raised her chin gently, making her look at him, "I love you. And I don't care who knows."

She smiled and kissed him softly, "I love you, too."

…

"I really don't know how I feel about the new _Star Wars_ movie." Taylor said as she wiped down the kitchen countertop. "I'm not super crazy about Disney owning Lucasfilm."

"Disney's put out some decent not-kiddy movies." Otis pointed out. "The _Pirates of the Caribbean_ series was good."

"This is true." Taylor squinted at a particularly tenacious spot of…something, "Did you guys clean _anything_ while I was gone? Sheesh!"

"We cleaned." Mouch said. "Kinda."

"I'm sure." She scratched at the spot, then got her pocket knife out and scraped at it, "I leave y'all alone for a couple 'a days and come back to a hog sty."

"Sure didn't miss that hillbilly accent." Herrmann teased, giving her a one-armed hug.

"Hush up, Yankee, I fix your food." Taylor countered, returning the hug.

He chuckled, "Glad you're back, kid."

"Me, too."

"Glad you're back, too, Severide." Herrmann called across the room.

"Yeah, yeah." Severide waved him off, thoroughly engrossed in the morning paper.

"Have you let Mustang Sally drive the Silverado yet, Taylor?" Capp asked, elbowing Severide jokingly.

So they did know. Taylor grinned, "He's drove it a couple of times."

"It's really not my thing." Severide said.

"What year is your truck?" Casey asked.

"It's an oh-four." Taylor answered, still working on the mystery spot.

"It's a nice truck."

"Thanks. It was Jason's. He'd had it all of two months before he was killed. It's been a good one."

Before Casey could say anything else, Chief Boden appeared in the doorway. "Severide, Taylor, in my office. Now."

The two exchanged a glance before silently following Boden back to his office.

…

"It has come to my attention that you two are…romantically involved." Boden said, leaning back against his desk.

"We are." Severide answered.

"You both know what the policy is on that."

"We do." He took Taylor's hand, suddenly afraid that one of them might be sent to another house right that minute.

Boden sighed, "Given what happened to the both of you, it doesn't surprise me. I don't condone in-house relationships, but I can't punish you and let others get by with it. So, I am going to turn a blind eye. But, it had better not interfere with your jobs."

"It won't."

"Dismissed."

Quickly, they left the office. Severide put his arm around Taylor's shoulders as they walked down the hallway. "That didn't take long."

"I know." Taylor moved closer to him, "I thought I was a goner for sure."

He frowned and stopped, "Why you?"

"Kelly, this is your house. I'm still new. If anybody gets sent away it'll be me."

She was right. He gave her a quick hug, "Nobody's going anywhere, okay? We'll just have to be careful."

…

Author's Note: Thanks to Sarrabr4, TheIrishShipperholic, and RBCFCPD7410 for the reviews!


	11. Chapter 11

One of the worst parts of Chicago's winter months was water rescues. The frigid water would suck the breath from your lungs the moment its icy fingers curled around you. Severide dreaded getting into the water. His wetsuit would only keep him warm for so long. He watched Taylor as she drove, guiding the rescue truck quickly but carefully through the city streets.

They arrived on scene to find an SUV partially submerged in the murky water. The first order of business would be to check for victims and secure the vehicle.

As he suited up, Severide glanced up at Taylor. She raised one eyebrow at him, and he winked back in response. That was their on-scene signals for "be careful" and "I will".

Taking Newhouse with him, Severide dove into the freezing water and swam to the front of the vehicle. Peering into the driver's side window, he located the driver slumped against the steering wheel. The kid was maybe seventeen. His head was bleeding a little from smacking the steering wheel. Thankfully, there were no other passengers in the vehicle. Signaling to Newhouse, they began to wrap cables around the rear axle of the SUV. Once that was done, Newhouse surfaced to tell Mills and Brett about their patient.

Alone for the moment, Severide went to work. He could already feel the cold seeping in on him. He needed to move fast. He tried the door, but to no avail. It was too cold to waste time, so he broke out the window, and reached through to open the door. Thankfully, the seat belt didn't give him any trouble. He removed his regulator and pressed it to the kid's face as he pulled him from the driver's seat. With the boy in his arms, Severide headed for the surface.

...

Shivering despite his best efforts not to, and trying to ignore the ache in his side, Severide watched as the SUV was pulled slowly from the water. Ambulance 61 was long gone with the boy, who would hopefully be okay. Taylor came up beside him, his coat in hand. Although he had his Squad jacket on, the heavy turnout coat would provide him with extra warmth. "Thanks." he said, gratefully sliding into it. The familiar smell of soot and smoke wafted up to meet him.

"You're welcome." Taylor stood close to him and watched as the SUV's front tires finally broke through to the surface. She was trying valiantly to hide the fact that she was freezing.

He wanted to stand behind her and wrap his coat around her to share warmth. He knew she was cold - she pretty much stayed cold. He guessed it was from being so used to Georgia weather. But, that would get them in trouble. He made a mental note to crank the heat up on the way back.

Once the SUV was back on dry land, Squad decided to leave. They were cold and hungry, and there really wasn't anything left for them to do.

"How does chili sound for supper, boys?" Taylor asked as everyone piled back into the rig.

They agreed that it sounded delicious.

"Chili it is, then." she smiled, pulling back out onto the road.

Severide reached over and turned the heat up.

"Thank you." Taylor whispered. She hated being cold. It was so cold up here! She wasn't sure she would ever get used to Chicago weather.

He smiled, wondering how long it would be before someone started complaining about the heat.

As she stopped at a light, Taylor happened to glance out her window. A little girl - maybe five or six years of age - was staring up at her from the car beside them, a look of wonder on her petite face. Taylor smiled down at her and waved. The child waved back, ecstatic. Although she couldn't hear what the little girl's voice sounded like, Taylor could read her lips.

"Mommy, Mommy, look! There's a girl driving that fire truck!"

Taylor waved again when the girl's mother twisted around in her seat to see what all the fuss was about. The lady smiled and returned the wave.

The light turned, and Taylor waved to the girl one final time. Sometimes she wished she could have children, but most of the time, she was glad she couldn't. Kids scared her. Burning buildings? Car wrecks? Blood, guts, and gore? Cake. Kids? No way.

She glanced over at Severide and found him slightly hunched over in his seat. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He wasn't convincing as he leaned against the passenger door, brow furrowing as though he were in pain.

She squinted at him quickly, trying to get a read on his condition. "Are you hurt?" she whispered.

"Later." he replied.

Trying not to seem panicked, Taylor quickened her pace.

…

Author's Note: Apologies for the lateness and shortness of last night's chapter. I felt like crap on a cracker and almost didn't post at all. Apparently, I contracted the 24-hour bug that's currently besieging my home state. Add a developing sinus mess to the mix, and a fun time was had by all. Fortunately, I am better…but my poor husband is not.

Thanks to Sarrabr4, RBCFCPD7410, and TheIrishShipperholic for the reviews! Thanks also to thatrebelbrielle for the follow!


	12. Chapter 12

Severide sat in his office, shirt in his hands, taking careful breaths. His ribs ached. Not like he'd re-broken anything, but like he'd overexerted himself. Taylor knelt before him, carefully running her hands over him, checking to make sure that he hadn't popped a freshly-healed rib out of place.

"Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" Taylor asked.

He shook his head, "No."

"Do you want me to go get Dawson?"

"No. I'll be okay. I've got an Ace bandage in my desk. Will you wrap me up?"

"Okay." Taylor didn't like the idea, but she couldn't make him go get checked out. Quickly, she located the bandage and began wrapping him up. "Too tight?" she asked, fastening the end of the bandage with the little silver clip.

"That's good. Thanks."

She reached up and caressed his cheek. He leaned into her hand and closed his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, baby girl."

"Sev, are you okay?" Casey asked from the doorway.

It took everything Taylor had to keep from jumping. Cursing herself for not paying closer attention to the outside world, she stood slowly and moved to stand behind her lover, trailing her hand down his neck and onto his shoulder. It was a brassy move on her part. Casey could get her fired or transferred _really_ fast.

Severide opened his eyes and looked up at his friend, "I'm fine. I just pulled something I think."

Casey could see the pain in Severide's eyes, "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No. Shelby wrapped me up. I'll be fine."

Casey looked at Taylor, who met his gaze evenly. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." He walked away slowly, almost like he wanted to say something.

Severide slowly leaned back into his chair and put his hand over Taylor's. He needed to put his shirt back on before anyone else saw them.

Taylor dropped a quick kiss on his cheek as she took his shirt. "Probably better put this back on."

"Yeah." he sighed. He wanted to go home. With her. And take a long nap on the couch with her in his arms.

Carefully, she helped him stand up and put his shirt back on. "Come to the break room with me. I need to fix supper, but I don't want to leave you alone."

…

Taylor's chili lasted all of thirty minutes. With darkness enveloping the city and their bellies full, all of Firehouse 51 lounged around the break room. The atmosphere was relaxed and almost sleepy.

Sitting on the couch beside a dozing Severide, Taylor played her guitar softly, losing herself in the familiar cords.

Inquisitively, Mills looked Taylor's way, "Is that _Nothing Else Matters_?"

Taylor grinned, "Woulda never pegged you for a Metallica fan, Mills."

"Ditto. Sounds good, though."

"Thanks."

"How long have you been playing?" Mills continued.

Taylor thought for a minute, "I think I started learning when I was five or six. I remember knowing how to play simple stuff when I started school. My brother was learning, so I wanted to learn, too. We used to play and sing at church every Sunday until Luke left for college."

"When are you and Brett gonna perform at Molly's?" Dawson asked.

Taylor knew Brett wasn't super crazy about getting up in front of people. She didn't particularly like it herself, but she wanted to help Molly's out. "When would you like us to?"

Dawson shrugged, "Whenever you're free."

"What kind of music do you want me to play? I imagine country wouldn't go over very well."

"Some of the newer stuff might." Cruz said. "I don't think our crowd will be too picky."

"Okay. I'll see what I can come up with." She moved her clamp up and down the neck of her guitar, tinkering with it until she found the right tune.

Severide roused up when he recognized the song. It kind of surprised him that he knew it. Although he wouldn't admit it, he liked both the song and the artist. It was _Night Train_ by Jason Aldean.

Taylor sang softly, not wanting to break the relaxed mood of the house. No one objected to her singing, so she moved on to other artists like Alabama, George Strait, and John Denver. The rare quiet evening turned into a rare quiet night. She played and sang for them until it was time for lights out.

…

_This sucks._

_I know. :(_ Taylor flipped her phone down onto the pillow and froze when someone shifted nearby. She was hiding under a blanket in her bunk, texting Severide, who was in his office. It was their first night apart in weeks. She felt like a teenager hiding from her parents as she felt her phone buzz again.

_Can you sneak away?_

_I can try._ She would be in a world of trouble if anyone caught her. Quickly, she peeked out from under her blanket. Everyone seemed to be asleep. Silently, she crept out from under the blanket, grabbed her boots, and padded past the rows of her sleeping comrades, heading for the hallway that would lead her to his office. She noticed Dawson was in her bunk tonight. That was unusual. And more than likely not good.

His office door was open just enough to discourage suspicion. She slipped inside easily and gingerly pushed it shut. The light cast from his phone led her to his bunk and into his arms.

"Thank you." he whispered, covering her with his blanket.

She kissed him softly, "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. I took some Ibuprofen. I guess I just overdid it." He smiled as she settled into him. He tightened his arms around her, half hugging, half clinging. Shay had been on his mind a lot this evening, and it was beginning to get to him.

"At least we have the next two days off."

"Yeah."

Something in his voice bothered her, "Are you okay, baby?"

"I am now." He kissed the top of her head, "I've had Shay on my mind a lot tonight."

She nodded, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not yet. I just want to hold you right now."

"Okay." Softly, she kissed his neck, "I love you."

He closed his eyes, breathing in her familiar, comforting scent, "Love you, too."

…

Author's Note: Thanks to RBCFCPD7410 (Hope you feel better soon, love!) and Sarrabr4 for the reviews!


	13. Chapter 13

WARNING: This chapter contains adult stuff. If you're not into that, skip the middle.

…

Taylor made it back to her bunk about half an hour before any of the early birds awoke. She settled down beneath her blanket, the warmth of Severide's embrace still lingering on her skin. She had just stilled when her phone vibrated. She sighed a little as she located her phone and swiped the screen.

It was a shirtless picture of Severide lying in his bunk.

_You're so mean._ she texted.

_You're mine when we get home._ was his response.

…

As dawn broke, Taylor caught Mills as he was pulling his duffel bag out of his locker. "For you." she said, handing him a slip of paper.

Mills frowned as he took the paper, "What's this?"

Taylor grinned, "Open it."

Carefully, Mills opened the slip. His eyes widened in disbelief, "How did you get this?"

She shrugged, "I got skills, honey. She's free Friday night, by the way. I suggest you call her pretty soon."

Unable to contain his excitement, Mills gave her a quick hug, "I owe you big time." He sobered upon seeing the look that Severide was giving him, "Sorry, Lieutenant." Quickly, he gathered his belongings, shut his locker, and headed for the parking lot.

"What was that about?" Severide asked, slinging his own bag over his shoulder.

Taylor shut her locker and picked up her bag, "Remember my cute little neighbor girl? The one in nursing school?"

He nodded.

"I got her number for Mills."

"Why?"

She shrugged, "Kid needs a girlfriend. Or a hobby. ...Or a dog."

Severide shook his head as he draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her gently against his side. Her arm snaked around him as they headed to the parking lot.

Cruz whistled at them as they walked by. Taylor stuck her tongue out at him in response. He laughed, "Hey, are you two coming to Molly's tonight?"

Severide paused, looking to Taylor, who shrugged. "Yeah, we'll stop by."

"Cool. See you tonight." Cruz waved goodbye as he slid into the passenger seat of Brett's car.

"Can I take you somewhere today?" Severide asked as they continued on to Taylor's truck.

"Sure." Taylor replied, unlocking their doors as soon as her remote was within range. "Where're we goin'?"

"Somewhere special."

…

Taylor grunted as her back hit her mattress. Severide pinned her wrists above her head as he captured her lips in an impassioned kiss. They'd been home all of five minutes.

"You're mine." he whispered huskily, burying himself deep within her.

"Kelly…" she moaned, loving how he felt inside her.

He'd been waiting all shift for this. Releasing her wrists, he began to take her with long, deep strokes. He loved the sounds she made for him. He loved the way her body felt beneath his. He loved the way her hands danced over his skin. He loved how tight, and wet, and warm she was around his cock. Sex with Taylor wasn't just sex. It wasn't meaningless. It wasn't a fling. It was…amazing, and passionate, and…perfect. He slowed his pace a little, wanting to make this last as long as he could.

Taylor opened her eyes and looked up at him, smiling when their eyes met.

He loved her eyes. At one point in time, he'd dreaded meeting those hazel eyes of hers. Now, though, he couldn't get enough of the way she looked at him. "I love you." he murmured, kissing her softly.

"I love you, baby." She stroked his cheek, enjoying the sensual turn that this had taken.

Carefully, he ran his fingers through her hair, "You're everything to me. You know that?"

"I know." She raised up enough to kiss him, "And you're my everything."

He lowered his lips to her neck, trailing kisses up and down her skin. One of his hands found her breasts, drawing a soft moan from her. He wasn't going to last much longer, even though he wanted to make love to her for hours.

Taylor cried out in pleasure as he hit her sweet spot. Arching beneath him, she clung to his shoulders as he pounded into her. "Kelly…"

Severide nipped at her neck, being careful not to leave marks, "Cum for me, baby."

"Kelly…"

He loved the way she said his name right when she was on the edge of orgasm. His own release was seconds away. Her fingernails dug into his skin as she tensed around him, signaling the beginning of her climax. "Shelby!" he grunted, exploding into her depths.

Taylor almost screamed as she came. She managed to keep her wits about her long enough to release Severide's shoulders before she drew blood.

Spent, he collapsed on his stomach beside her.

Taylor smiled as she rolled onto her side and ran her fingers through his hair.

Somewhere in the trail of clothing that led from the bedroom into the living room, Taylor's cell phone rang. She ignored it the first time, but when it rang a second time, she glanced toward the bedroom door.

"Get it." Severide said, "Might be important."

"Somebody better be dying." Taylor sighed as she slowly crawled off of her bed. By now, her phone was ringing a third time. She rummaged through the clothing piles, trying to remember whether her phone was in her pants, jacket, or bag. The phone beeped once, signaling a text message had been received.

Severide watched her, admiring her body. She should be naked more often. And by often he meant always.

Finally, Taylor located her phone. In Severide's pants. How in the world did her phone end up there? She unlocked the screen and tapped her text notification. "Holy _frickin'_ crap, Kelly, you are _not_ gonna believe this." she said, heading back into the bedroom.

Severide sat up, concerned by her sudden irritation, "What?" He frowned when he saw the screen, "Why is Otis texting your phone?"

"Did you read the message?"

He hadn't. Quickly, he scanned the lines.

_Hey! Hate to bother you, but we were wondering if you'd sing at Molly's tonight. Brett said no already. Doesn't have to be fancy. I have some cousins who can be your band. Let me know ASAP._

"What should I do?" She _really_ hadn't wanted to sing tonight.

"What do you want to do?"

"Kick Otis in the head." She flopped back down beside him, "I told Dawson I'd sing sometime, but I hadn't meant tonight!"

He wasn't super thrilled with the idea of Taylor singing in a bar, Molly's or not. Men tended to get grabby in bars. He _really_ didn't want to have to beat someone up.

Taylor sighed, exasperated. "Should I just do it and get it over with?"

"I don't really like the thought of you singing in a bar. Molly's or not. You know how men get when they get a little alcohol in them."

"I know." She sighed again, "What if I just did one song? That way I wouldn't let Dawson down."

Severide was silent for a moment, thinking. "Okay." he finally said, "One song."

"I'll call Otis back." She tapped on Otis's number, putting the call on speakerphone as soon as it connected.

"Hey, Taylor!" Otis said on the second ring. "Were you busy?"

"A little bit." Severide answered.

The silence lasted for several seconds, "I am _so_ sorry. And I just threw up a little."

"Let's make this quick, Otis." Taylor said, winking at Severide, "We were in the middle of something."

Otis made a disgusted sound, "Grooooss!"

"I will do _one_ song tonight. One. I'll send you the YouTube link to what I'm singing. Send it to your cousins and see if they can do it. I'm doing lead guitar, too."

"Thank you!" Otis exclaimed, all previous trauma forgotten.

Taylor looked at Severide as she said "I want plenty of room around the stage area, too. No grabbers."

"Done!"

…

They walked hand in hand through the museum. This was one of the first places Taylor had visited once she moved to Chicago. Severide told her about the great fire of 1871 and about some of the things that were housed within the hallowed walls. He honestly surprised her with his vast knowledge of firefighting.

They paused in front of the massive glass case that was full of the badges of the fallen. Taylor immediately spotted the badges of Shay and Darden.

"This is the first time I've been down here since…" his voice trailed off.

She squeezed his hand gently.

"I know a lot of these guys."

As she gazed solemnly at the rows of badges, Taylor suddenly found herself fighting back tears.

"What's wrong?" Severide put his arms around her and pulled her close.

Although she was trying hard not to, she sniffled, "I was just thinking about how close we came to having another badge down here."

He hugged her and planted a soft kiss against her hair, "I thought we weren't gonna think about that anymore."

"I know. I can't help it." She pulled away enough to wipe her eyes, "I'm planning on going home for a week this summer. My dad needs help with some fencing, so I figured I'd come down during his factory's summer shutdown and help. I'd like for you to come with me. I'd like to show you where I grew up. I'd like to show you my old department. And I'd like to show you Jason's place on the Fallen Officers Memorial."

He'd never been to Georgia before. Going with her meant meeting her parents. Meeting her parents meant a whole new level of seriousness. Was he ready for that? Was he ready for _that_ kind of relationship?

Taylor looked up at him expectantly.

"Okay. Road trip it is."

…

Author's Note: I have caught up with myself! The next chapters may be a day or so apart from this point on. Thanks to Sarrabr4 and TheIrishShipperholic for the reviews! Thanks also to my readers! My charts continue to make me happy!


	14. Chapter 14

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Cruz shouted over the crowd that had gathered at Molly's that night, "Please welcome to the stage Georgia's pride and joy! Miss! Shelby! Tay-lor!"

Taylor stepped into the stage area with a smile on her face and butterflies in her stomach. It had been a long time since she'd sang in front of this many people. A light applause met her entrance, but she quickly spotted Severide sitting at the bar, clapping and whistling louder than anyone else in the room. She looked at her band as she picked up her rarely-used electric guitar. All of them looked to be less than twenty years old. This could end very badly. Too late to back out now, though. Taking a deep breath, she faced the crowd and strummed the opening chords.

"Pour me, pour me  
>Pour me, pour me another shot of whiskey<br>Bartender hit me one more time

He left, I cried  
>I'm lost inside, won't ya help me<br>Oh fill it to the top 'cause I hit rock bottom this time

Aw, listen up now  
>Well I don't want to listen to the old jukebox<br>So don'tcha put no quarters in the slot  
>I don't wanna talk and I don't wanna dance<br>I dang sure ain't lookin' for romance

I don't wanna hang out with the crowd  
>I don't wanna party and get real loud<br>Believe me when I tell ya that I've thought this through  
>There's only one thing that I want you to do<p>

Pour me, pour me  
>Pour me, pour me another shot of whiskey<br>Bartender hit me one more time

He left, I cried  
>I'm lost inside, won't ya help me<br>Yeah fill it to the top 'cause I hit rock bottom this time  
>Aw, pick it boys!"<p>

The bar was rocking by now. Dawson and Brett danced along to the music as they quickly tended the bar, playing the part of the bartender in the song. This song was pretty upbeat to be a drinking song. It was the only not-depressing drinking song she knew. As Taylor and one of Otis's cousins went into the brief break, she spotted a busty brunette in stilettos and a tight little party dress talking to Severide. Severide kept shaking his head and pointing toward the stage, trying to tell the woman that he was taken and not interested in her. The woman persisted, leaning against the bar in front of him. Severide kept trying to get her to leave, but she wasn't taking the hint.

"Aw, let's go!" Taylor's blood was boiling. How dare she! The woman was openly and repeatedly being turned down, but she just _would_ _not_ leave! She'd better be leaving soon, though, because the song was almost over.

"Well, I tell ya  
>Here's my story, it's sad but it's true<br>There's so many things that I never knew  
>He loved to party and he loved to dance<br>He loved to get loud every time he had the chance

I always thought he was a simple-minded Okie  
>Well little did I know he was the king of karaoke<br>He was everything that a man should be  
>Problem was that it wasn't with me<p>

Pour me, pour me  
>Pour me, pour me another shot of whiskey<br>Bartender hit me one more time

He left, I cried  
>I'm lost inside, won't ya help me<br>Oh fill it to the top 'cause I hit rock bottom this time  
>Oh won't you fill it to the top 'cause I hit rock bottom this time<br>Mmmm one more  
>Fill it to the top 'cause I hit rock bottom this time<p>

Pour me  
>Pour me<br>Pour me  
>Pour me!"<p>

The woman touched Severide's arm. He stood and backed away, hands up, telling her to stop. That did it. Taylor's vision went red.

The crowd was still cheering as Taylor returned her guitar to its stand and made a beeline for the bar. The brunette had her back turned to the stage as she took a flirty step toward Severide. Taylor grabbed the woman's shoulder, spun her around, and delivered a vicious sucker punch directly to her nose.

The woman dropped to the floor like a rag doll, blood pouring from her broken nose. Stunned, she looked up at Taylor, who loomed above her, hands on her hips.

"Oops." Taylor said, her accent on full display, "You twisted yer ankle in them six-inch sticks yer wearin'. Fell and busted yer nose right on the bar. Maybe you ought not to be wearin' them things while yer tryin' ta move in on another woman's man. 'Specially when he's sayin' no. Why, there ain't no _tellin'_ what might happen the next time you decide to pull some ig'nert stunt like that!"

The woman started to get up, acting like she wanted to fight.

Taylor put one boot square in the middle of her chest and shoved her back down to the bar's floor. "Go ahead. Make my day."

Again, the woman tried to get up, and again, Taylor roughly shoved her back down. Fortunately, the brunette's friends came to her aid, collecting her from the floor and apologizing to Taylor for her crazy behavior.

"Understand somethin', Yankee." Taylor growled at the brunette, pointing at Severide, "That one right there is _mine_. I catch you doin' so much as makin' eyes at him ever again and I will mop the floor with your ass."

Before she could respond, the woman's friends quickly hurried her out of the bar.

Taylor turned around and went to the bar, hunching her shoulders as she leaned against the well-worn wood.

Dawson poured her a shot of Jack Daniels and slid it over, "On the house."

In one fluid motion, Taylor grabbed the shot glass, threw back the whiskey, and slammed the glass back onto the bar. She looked up at Severide as the heat from the alcohol crept slowly back up her throat.

He was still staring at her in disbelief. "You just broke her nose."

"She's lucky that's all I did. …I hope you'd do the same for me."

He shrugged as he took his place by her side, "I'd probably be in the back of a cop car by now if some guy had hit on you."

Taylor smiled as she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. It had been a long, long time since she'd gotten that angry. She suddenly became aware of someone staring at her. Looking to the left, she found Cruz and Otis. "What?"

"Nothin'!" Cruz exclaimed, scooting closer to Otis.

"We're officially terrified of you now." Otis said.

Taylor sighed, "Otis, are you tryin' to move in on my man?"

He shook his head quickly, "No, ma'am."

"Then you got nothin' to worry about."

Herrmann was suddenly standing in front of Taylor, arms crossed over his chest. He waited until she looked up at him before he spoke. "You know the rules. Don't be fightin' in my bar."

"Sorry, Herrmann." Taylor said, looking into the empty shot glass in her hands.

"Yeah, well." He couldn't be mad at her, "Just don't let it happen again, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"And thanks for the idea."

Frowning, she looked up at him, "Idea?"

Herrmann grinned, "Karaoke."

…

Author's Note: I don't own the song I just used. If you'd like to hear what it's supposed to sound like, here's the YouTube link: /S9H3PfJH3bs. It's called "Pour Me" by Trick Pony. I was torn between that and "Friends in Low Places." Don't get me wrong, I love Garth Brooks, but that song seemed a little overdone for this fic.

Thanks to Sarrabr4 for the review and confidence boost, RBCFCPD7410 for the review and favorite, and TheIrishShipperholic for the review and idea!


	15. Chapter 15

Taylor followed the sound of stifled sniffles into the restroom. It sounded like they were coming from the showers. She tried not to make a lot of noise as she approached. Locating the stall that the sniffles were coming from, she sank slowly to the floor and carefully pushed the shower curtain aside.

Dawson looked up at Taylor, her face streaked with tears, "I'm fine."

Taylor grinned, "Then you've got the whole concept of taking a shower wrong."

Dawson smiled despite herself.

"You know how Kelly and I make it work?"

She shook her head, not really wanting to know but also knowing that Taylor was going to tell her anyway.

"I realize that our situation is different from yours in that he was my Lieutenant first, then my friend, then my boyfriend. You and Casey started out as friends first, then became a couple, and now he's your Lieutenant. But, we have to find balance just like you. So, when we're here, he's in charge. He says, I do. Simple as that. But, when we're home, I'm in charge. It's worked so far."

"Lucky you." Dawson crossed her arms over her knees and laid her head down.

Taylor sighed, deciding to cut to the chase, "Dawson, I'm gonna be straight with you. Please don't get mad at me for anything I'm about to say. I'm only sayin' it because I don't want anything to happen to you."

Dawson gave no response.

"Stop trying to impress everyone. Stop trying to impress Casey. Just do your job and don't try to MacGyver anything."

At this, Dawson looked up, anger flashing in her eyes.

Taylor put one hand up, stopping the snappy response in its tracks. "Just listen, okay? Everybody knows what you're capable of. Everybody knows that you are crazy good at your job. And everybody knows that you are gonna be one insane firefighter. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone. I don't try to impress Kelly. Why should I? I've been a firefighter since the day I turned eighteen. I don't have to prove myself to anyone. You've been in emergency services long enough that you don't have to prove anything to anyone either. Okay?"

Dawson nodded.

"Now…our men didn't get to be Lieutenants just because they're good lookin'. They know their job. They know firefighting. They know how to command a scene and a crew. They are our bosses. If they tell us to do something, we're expected to do it. We are _not_ expected to question them. If we have a question or concern, we're expected to bring it to them _after_ we've cleared the scene. They're not gonna ask us to do anything that they wouldn't do themselves."

Dawson nodded again.

"I know your and Casey's personal lives isn't any of my business. But, I don't want to see you two fall apart. Both professionally and personally. I want you guys to work out. I really do. But it's gonna take work on both parts. Okay?"

"Okay."

"And if you need a place to cool off, we've got a spare bedroom." She stood up slowly, "Door's always open. You've got my number."

"Thanks." Dawson watched her leave, then pulled the shower curtain closed again.

…

"Lieutenant Casey, do you have a minute?"

Casey looked up from his paperwork, "Sure, Taylor. What's up?"

Taylor leaned against the door frame, "You know what a loggin' chain looks like, right?"

He frowned, "Yeah. It's a big heavy chain that's used to pull logs out of the forest. Why?" Where in the world was she going with this?

"People are like loggin' chains. Have you ever tried to push one of those big old chains? It's just about impossible. Now, have you ever tried to _pull_ one? It's a whole lot easier. People are like that. If you do it right, you can lead 'em along behind you just like that chain. But, if you try to push 'em..." She shrugged, "Can't be done."

Casey looked at her for a long time, pondering her statement. He knew what she was talking about, which was kind of scary. Scarier yet, he understood her analogy. "That actually makes sense, Taylor."

"An elderly friend of mine told me that a long time ago. His name was Alvin." She smiled softly at the memory, "There's your sage country wisdom for the day."

Casey nodded, but he still looked bothered. "I don't suppose Alvin had an answer for what to do with a chain that's been pushed into a tangled mess, did he?"

Taylor's smiled widened a little, "No, but I do."

He opened his hands as if to say, "Let's have it."

"Break out the grease, honey. And the patience. With enough grease and enough patience, even the most tangled, kinked up, messed up chain can be straightened out." She pointed skyward, "Never hurts to ask for a little help, too."

Casey nodded, "Thanks, Taylor."

"You're welcome, Lieutenant."

…

"Keep the change." Severide said, handing Brett some folded bills.

"But-" Brett started.

"For your trouble. Please."

Brett sighed as she tucked the money into her pocket. She hated to keep anyone's change. "I'll have it to you by the end of this shift."

"Thank you." He meant it. He wouldn't have been able to pull this off if she wasn't helping him.

Taylor suddenly came bounding into the bay, squealing like a teenage girl. She slid to a stop in front of Severide and Brett, bouncing up and down excitedly, "Oh my gosh, guess what! Guess what! Guess what!"

"What?" Severide and Brett asked in unison.

"I just sold my house in Georgia!"

"That's great." Brett smiled.

"Great? It's _fantastic_! That thing had been on the market for _two_ years! Guess how much I got for it?" By now, she was almost jumping up and down with excitement.

"I dunno...seventy-five?" Severide guessed.

"One twenty five! Full asking price! And the buyers are paying all of the fees and stuff! I get straight cash!"

"That's great, babe!" Although he knew they could get in trouble, Severide hugged her anyway.

"That's awesome!" Brett exclaimed, hugging Taylor as soon as Severide let her go.

"What in the world are you gonna do with that kinda money?" Herrmann asked. He couldn't help but overhear the conversation.

"Put it in my retirement fund." Taylor answered quickly. She knew where he was going, and she wasn't about to invest in Molly's. As bad as it sounded, she was not about to put one single dollar into an establishment that had already gobbled up untold thousands of dollars from several of her coworkers.

"You know, investing some money in local up-and-coming businesses is almost always a good move."

Taylor sighed, "Herrmann, I love you. I truly do. But I need to put my money where I know I can get to it in a pinch. I need my money to be somewhere stable. It took me _years_ to get my husband's funeral paid off, and I ate a _lot_ of peanut butter sandwiches in the years following just trying to make ends meet on my income. I don't want to go through that again."

Herrmann shrugged, "That's understandable. But, if you ever change your mind…"

"I know where to find you."

The tones dropped as she spoke, sending the whole house scrambling.

…

Taylor was almost completely asleep when Severide kissed the top of her head, rousing her. They were snuggled up on the couch, watching a movie. Well, they had been watching a movie - the credits were rolling now. Stiff, she slowly sat up and stretched.

He sat up as well, smiling softly at her. "Can we talk about something?"

Oh crap. The five most dreaded words in any relationship. She tried not to look like her heart had just skipped a beat. "Sure."

"Do you think you'll ever get married again?"

Definitely had not been expecting that one. "I would if it was with the right person. …Jason and I talked about that once actually. "

"Oh?"

"Yeah. We both had dangerous jobs, and we knew that either of us could go at any time. So, we agreed to remarry. But only if we were totally sure that it was right." She shrugged, "I didn't want him to be lonely if something happened to me and he didn't want me to be lonely if something happened to him. We wanted each other to be taken care of. So we agreed."

He nodded, seeming to be thinking hard on something.

Not wanting to be the only one put on the spot, she asked, "What about you? After what happened with Renée, would you consider marriage again?"

"I would of I knew it was absolutely right."

"Seems like we're on the same page, then."

"Yeah. …Would you hyphenate your last name?"

She thought for a moment, "No. I'd take his name, but I'd keep Taylor, too. I'd be Shelby LeAnn Taylor and whatever his last name is."

Severide went silent for a few seconds before asking, "Well...what if we were to get married? One of us would have to transfer."

She sighed, "Yeah. That would be hard. I'd be the one to go being lowest in seniority. But, we'd make it work. We've always made it work."

He looked closely at her, "So...how do you know when it's _'right'_?"

She smiled, suddenly realizing what was coming, "I'll know."

"Well, in that case..." He took a small black box from his pants pocket as he slid to the floor on one knee before her. He opened it carefully, revealing a small diamond ring. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Shelby LeAnn Taylor, will you marry me?"

She loved this man more than she ever imagined she could love a man again. Spending the rest of her life with him just seemed...right. She smiled, loving the way his face lit up as she did. "Yes."

…

Author's Note: OMG, so much love this time! Thanks to TheIrishShipperholic, 2NYwLove, Cappiesgirl23, and RBCFCPD7410 for the reviews! Thanks to RBCFCPD7410, HermioneandMarcus, Gryffindor4eva, and Cappiesgirl23 for the follows and favorites! And thanks to my readers, who always make me happy!

We'll call this one the season break. I have so many ideas floating around for the next chapters! I just need to put them in order, work out some kinks, and type them up. Might take me a bit, but I promise more is coming!

For the record, Alvin (the log chain quote) is a real person who actually spoke the words I used. He's a friend of mine who is a local minister. Mr. Alvin isn't your ordinary minister, though; his past is quite interesting. And by interesting, I mean he knows several original Hell's Angels. However, he now spends his retirement going to places like biker bars and interstate truck stops witnessing to people who most would call hopeless. Mr. Alvin is a simple country man who has a neat way of seeing the world. He's truly a cool dude.

Hope all of you have a very blessed and very Merry Christmas!


	16. Chapter 16

"Fire Department! Call out!" Capp shouted over the roar of the flames.

Something to their left gave an ominous creak. The smoke began to shift and change.

"Fifty-One, pull out!" Chief Boden ordered over their radios.

Not needing to be told twice, Taylor and Capp began retreating toward the hallway. They were in an upscale apartment building. It was unusual – but not unheard of – to respond to fires in this part of the neighborhood. This fire had already been deemed suspicious.

"Hold up." Taylor said, catching a slight movement in the room to her left, "I think I saw something." Not waiting for Capp to follow her, she stepped into what she suddenly realized was a child's bedroom. A little girl's bedroom. "Fire Department! Call out!"

From somewhere beneath the bed, Taylor heard a tiny cough.

Dropping to her knees, Taylor lifted the smoldering dust ruffle. What she saw made her gasp.

It was the same little girl that she'd waved at a couple of weeks ago. She was huddled in a ball beneath her bed. Recognizing Taylor's face behind her SCBA mask, the little girl smiled, "I knew you'd come for me."

"C'mere, baby, we got no time to waste!" Taylor reached for the child, opening her coat as she did, "Just hang on to me, okay?" As soon as the little girl was safely tucked against her chest, she fastened her coat quickly and dashed out of the room. "Sixty-One, get ready! I found a kid!"

Capp was waiting for her in the doorway, "She okay?"

"For now. Let's get outta here!" Taylor took one big, deep breath, and broke protocol. She pulled off her mask and stuffed it down into her coat, pressing it against the little girl's face. They had four flights of stairs to go down.

Capp led the way, one hand clasped tightly on Taylor's arm. Severide would kill him if anything happened to her.

By the second flight of stairs, Taylor's lungs were screaming. She needed to breathe, but she wasn't about to take her mask away from her tiny passenger. Tucking her mouth into the top of her coat, she took a quick breath. Smoke and heat and untold chemicals singed her throat. It hurt like everything, but she just couldn't hold her breath any longer.

One flight of stairs stood between them and safety. Taylor's eyes were watering so badly she was now depending totally on Capp to guide her out of the inferno. Breathing was so incredibly painful. Capp – upon noticing his partner's distress – had pulled Taylor up against his side and was more or less pulling her through the smoke and ash.

Finally, they were out.

Coughing and staggering as she opened her coat with one hand, Taylor let Capp guide her toward Brett and Mills, who met them halfway. Mills took the girl and Taylor collapsed to her knees, gagging as she coughed on the smoke. Someone handed her a bottle of water, which she gratefully accepted. Half of the bottle went to washing out her mouth, the other half to washing out her eyes.

Severide suddenly appeared beside her. He grabbed her dangling mask and pressed it into her face, giving her a shot of cool oxygen.

Still sputtering, Taylor collapsed against him, trying to catch her breath. Smoke inhalation sucked. Very much bad.

"Don't ever do that again." he gently scolded, quickly kissing her soot-covered forehead.

Taylor nodded, still unable to speak.

"Taylor, are you okay?" Dawson asked, kneeling in front of her.

She shook her head, trying to breathe slowly.

"You need to go get checked out."

She nodded, knowing that Severide would make her go whether she wanted to or not. Another coughing fit engulfed her, and suddenly, she was in the air. Severide had scooped her up and was taking her to an awaiting ambulance. Hospital it was, then.

…

A couple of hours later, Taylor was signing her discharge papers. Her eyes were still a little red, but breathing was _so_ much easier now. "How's the girl?" she asked, handing her papers over to the nurse.

"Pretty good, actually." the nurse replied, "She's got minor burns and suffered some smoke inhalation. Other than that, she's good. We'll probably keep her overnight, though. She's over in Trauma Three if you want to say hi."

Taylor grinned, "I will. Thanks." With Severide, Capp, and Newhouse in tow, she headed for the little girl's temporary room. Fortunately, the curtain was partially open.

Sitting in the middle of her bed, the child's face lit up when Taylor popped her head around the curtain. "Daddy! Daddy! That's the lady who found me!" She opened her bandaged arms to Taylor, who quickly came to hug her.

"Hey, baby girl." Taylor said, trying to be gentle as the child squeezed her neck.

"You're the one who found my little Macy?" the girl's father asked. He was probably in his early forties, dark haired, dressed like a highly-paid businessman, and looking to be of well-bred lineage.

"Yessir." Taylor answered, suddenly realizing that she probably should've introduced herself to him.

"Thank you." He shook her hand, then shook the hands of the rest of Squad, "Thank all of you for saving my baby girl."

…

Taylor barely stifled a gasp as Severide slipped into the shower with her. She'd been completely wrapped up in her thoughts and hadn't heard him approaching.

"Shhh!" He pressed one finger against her lips, effectively silencing her. He'd been itching to get close to her for hours now. This was _so_ dangerous, but he honestly didn't care. "Are you okay?" he whispered, stroking her cheek.

"I'm fine. Promise. It was just a little smoke."

"You shouldn't have taken your mask off." He turned her around and began to massage her shoulders under the water.

"I know. What was I supposed to do, though? I couldn't let her breathe in all that crap in while I had air. You would've done the same thing."

"I would have." He kissed her neck, "But, as your Lieutenant, I'm telling you not to do that again."

"Yes sir." She relaxed against him, enjoying the feeling of his body against hers. His arms wrapped around her waist and he rested his chin on her shoulder. She could feel his heart beating against her back.

"Good save, though."

This made her smile, "Thanks."

"I love you."

"Love you, too."

…

"Let's see it." Chief Boden crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke, giving both of them a stern look.

Reluctantly, Taylor presented her left hand. She had dreaded this moment.

Boden inspected the ring, secretly surprised that Severide had actually done quite well with it. The silver band was slim and elegant, holding a small princess-cut diamond that was inset, making it almost impossible to knock the set from the band, which was a good idea considering their profession. It was simple, just like Taylor. "Congratulations." he finally said.

"Thank you." She retracted her hand, knowing what was coming next.

"So…" Boden looked from Taylor to Severide, "Who's it gonna be?"

"Me." Taylor answered miserably, "I have the least seniority."

Severide took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Boden sighed heavily, "I hate to lose you, Taylor. But, you two know the rules. As soon as we can get Dawson transferred, we'll start working on you."

"Yes sir." She dropped her head, fighting the sting of tears as reality set in. She didn't want to leave 51. She loved it here. These people were her family. She didn't want to leave them. And, most importantly, she didn't want to leave Severide. She felt another squeeze from him and returned it.

"And you," Boden turned his attention to Severide, "See to it that this in-house dating mess stops. I can't afford to keep losing my best people."

"Yes sir." Severide saw Taylor's jaw tighten. He rubbed his thumb against her finger, trying to provide some comfort.

"Dismissed."

As soon as they left the office, Severide pulled Taylor into a closet and wrapped his arms around her. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry." She buried her face in his shoulder, "Reality just kinda hit me. I don't want to leave. I don't want to work without you."

"I know." He rubbed her back, trying to calm her down, "We'll be okay. We'll make it work. I promise."

…

The morning paper was covered with pictures of the crew from Firehouse 51. The headline read _Hero_ _Firefighters_ _Save_ _Local_ _Businessman's_ _Daughter_. Apparently, little Macy Accardo's father owned several successful casinos and luxury hotels. According to Herrmann, Mr. Accardo was a direct descendant of Al Capone's hitman, Tony Accardo, which explained why his "businesses" were so successful.

"I bet that fire was a mob hit!" Herrmann exclaimed, handing the newspaper to Mouch.

"I didn't think the mafia was much on burning people out." Mouch said, adjusting his reading glasses.

"I thought we were done dealing with gangsters." Cruz groaned.

"Whether Mr. Accardo has mob ties or not," Chief Boden said as he entered the break room, "we just got a ten thousand dollar donation from him."

"Ten _grand_?" Casey asked, astonished.

Boden shrugged, "The note from the bank said it was a thank-you gift."

"Taylor, you need to start saving more rich kids." Otis teased, elbowing her playfully.

"Just don't choke to death in the process." Dawson winked.

…

Author's Note: Macy and Mr. Accardo belong to me. Also, please don't take Mr. Accardo's "lineage" for historical fact – I was researching famous Chicago mobsters for the purpose of this story and Tony Accardo's name stuck out.

Thanks to RBCFCPD7410, TheIrishShipperholic, Sarrabr4 (Hope you're better!), 2NYwLove, and HermioneandMarcus for the reviews and to psawyer9213 for the favorite! Thanks to my readers as well!


	17. Chapter 17

Finally, finally, winter gave way to spring, and spring faded into summer. With the coming of summer also came the Georgia trip. According to MapQuest, it was exactly eleven hours and fifteen minutes from Chicago to Dawsonville, and from Dawsonville, it was another twenty minutes to Taylor's parents' house. An easy day's drive, Taylor had called it.

Although he would _never_ admit to it, Severide was nervous. Meeting the parents was always a big deal, but meeting them as a fiancé instead of a boyfriend? That was a big deal of epic proportions. He hoped that legendary Southern hospitality would spare him a thorough inquisition.

"Ready?" Taylor asked, swinging easily into the driver's seat.

Severide smiled at her, masking his nervousness, "Ready."

Her truck roared to life and Taylor waved goodbye to Brett as they pulled out of Firehouse 51's parking lot. They were on their way.

They had just crossed into Indiana when Severide fell asleep.

Taylor took the opportunity to call home. "Hey, momma." she said when her mother answered the phone.

By the tone of her voice, her mother was smiling, "Hey, sweetheart. Are you on your way?"

"Yeah. We've just gotten into Indiana."

"We?"

"Kelly is with me."

"Oh, your little friend from St. Louis! I didn't know she was coming!"

"No, momma, that's Sylvie." Taylor checked her mirrors before moving into the center lane to avoid the line of traffic that was trying to merge onto the interstate.

"That's right. Kelly is the really pretty dark-haired girl, isn't she? The one that's engaged to Matthew?"

At this, Taylor laughed. She'd have to tell Severide about that one. "No, momma, that's Gabby."

"Well, you just have too many friends. Which one is Kelly again?"

"Kelly is my fiancé."

"That's right." Her voice took on a disappointed tone, "I had hoped that maybe you'd changed your mind about that."

_Here we go again._ Taylor thought. "Why?"

"Honey, why can't you find yourself a man down here? There's plenty of good men to choose from. Then you could come back home."

"I'm not having this conversation with you, momma. I'm marrying Kelly. Period."

"Shelby, why don't you let Catherine fix you up with some of her lawyer friends? I'm sure she can find you a nice young man."

"I found my own nice young man, thanks." Anger boiled within her. _Why_ couldn't her mother just let her make her own decisions? Why did she _always_ have to put her two-cents in? "And I wouldn't hit one of Cat's _friends_ with a ten-foot pole!"

"Shelby LeAnn!"

"Momma, I love Kelly. He's a good man. He's better than any man that you, or Cat, or anyone else could try to fix me up with!" As soon as she found an opening, she moved back into the right-hand lane. Maybe she was just paranoid, but she liked to always have an opening nearby just in case something happened. You never knew when someone might wreck or a semi might blow a tire.

Her mother was grasping at straws now, "But, Shelby, he's a firefighter. That's _so_ dangerous! What if he gets killed like Jason did? And you _know_ what goes on in the firehouse! Especially with the men! Why who _knows_ how many women he's been with?"

Furious, Taylor yanked the truck onto the shoulder of the interstate and slid to a stop, jolting Severide awake and sending him scrambling for a handhold. "You did _not_ just say that."

"Shelby, you know it's true. How many times did the men at your old department try to come on to you? Especially after Jason passed."

"Wow, mom. Wow." From the corner of her eye, she could see Severide giving her a what-the-f look.

"Shelby, listen to me-"

Taylor lost it, "No, _you_ listen to _me_. I am thirty-three years old. I will marry whomever I choose. Not who _you_ choose, not who daddy chooses, not who Luke chooses, and _damn_ sure not who Cat chooses. My fiancé is a _good man_. He works hard, he takes care of me, and he _loves me_. He is _not_ a womanizer. I love him, momma, and I _am_ gonna marry him whether anyone approves of it or not."

"Shelby LeAnn-"

Taylor ended the call. She debated on throwing her phone into the back seat, but decided not to. Instead, she dropped the phone into her cup holder and slammed both hands against the steering wheel. Heaving a sigh, she leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes. "Sorry you had to hear that."

"Was that your mom?" Severide asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah. Mom and Catherine are cut from the same high-falutin' cloth."

"I see." If that was the case, holidays must be interesting around their house.

"They think I'm too tomboyish for my own good. They think I need to be more girly." She sighed, "And they think I don't have enough sense to make my own decisions. It's always been like that."

"Do you want me to drive for a while?"

"No, I'm fine. I just need a minute to calm down." She took a deep breath, trying to make her hands stop shaking.

Cautiously, Severide reached across the seat and took one of her hands. He could feel her anger and it honestly scared him. He wasn't about to tell her that the womanizer accusation had long ago at one point in time been true. "Thanks for standing up for me."

She smiled a little, despite her still-simmering anger, "You're welcome." Again, she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Satisfied that she had calmed down enough to be able to drive like a sane person, she pulled back into traffic. "Do you have your phone where you can get to it?"

"Yeah." Releasing her hand, he dug his cell phone out of his pants pocket, "What do you need it for?"

"Book us a hotel room in Dawsonville for the week. We'll be there late tonight."

Severide frowned, "I thought we were gonna stay with your parents."

"Not after that. My debit card is in my wallet."

Her wallet was in her purse. He wasn't about to get into her purse. "I'll get it."

"But-"

"It's fine, baby, really." He settled back into his seat and began looking through available hotel rooms.

They'd gone maybe five miles when Taylor's phone rang. She glanced down at it and saw Luke's name. Great. She sighed, "Will you answer that?"

Severide hesitated as he reached for her phone. On the list of things men were _really _uncomfortable doing, answering a woman's phone ranked right up there with getting into a woman's purse. Even with said woman's permission, it still felt like sticking your hand into a bear trap.

"Please?"

He swiped his thumb across the screen and lifted the phone to his ear, "Hey, Luke."

Luke was silent for a second, surprised that he was talking to Severide instead of his sister, "Hey, Kelly. Wasn't expecting you. Where's Shelby?"

Severide glanced at Taylor, "She's driving."

Luke sighed, "Let me talk to her."

"I dunno if you really wanna do that right now."

"I don't, believe me."

Taylor reached for her phone. "Hey." she said, pressing it to her ear.

Luke's voice carried more than a hint of irritation, "Why did I just get a phone call from mom?"

She shrugged, "I dunno."

"Can you two _please_ have a normal conversation for once?"

Anger began to tint her voice, "Did she tell you what she said about my fiancé?"

"Something tells me you're going to."

Taylor sighed, "We're getting a hotel room in town."

"I thought you were gonna stay with mom and dad!"

"I can't, Luke, not now."

He sighed, "Fine. What time do you think you'll be getting in?"

"No later than ten unless we hit traffic in Nashville."

"Okay. Text me when you get there."

"I will."

"Love you, kid."

"Love you, too."

…

Author's Note: If you're reading this and you're from Georgia, please forgive me for any faux pas I may make. I've only been through Georgia three or four times in my life. It's a pretty state, but it takes entirely too long to drive through it. If you're from Dawsonville, please forgive me for picking your town to be Taylor's hometown. I literally looked up a map of Georgia and Dawsonville stuck out.

This chapter is a little chatty, I know. I'm trying to slowly incorporate Taylor's family into these next couple of chapters. I want the Georgia trip to be interesting. ;)

Thanks to Sarrabr4, TheIrishShipperholic, and HermioneandMarcus for the reviews!


	18. Chapter 18

Severide's phone buzzed about halfway through Nashville. Once he saw who the call was coming from, he quickly turned the radio off and answered it, "Hey."

Immediately, Taylor sensed a change in him. She glanced to the side in time to see his brow furrow with worry.

"I'm on my way to Georgia with Shelby right now, why?" He leaned forward slightly covering his other ear with his hand so that he could hear better, "Wait, wait, slow down. What's wrong?"

The tone of his voice worried her, "Do I need to pull over?"

He shook his head and motioned for her to keep going. "Do you need us to turn around? …We'll be back next Sunday. Will you be okay until then? …Do you want me to come get you?"

By now, Taylor was extremely concerned. Severide rarely got phone calls. Was it Dawson? Had she and Casey broken up? Was it Brett? One of the guys? His dad?

"Give me five minutes, okay? I'll call you right back." He ended the call with a heavy sigh, "I need a _huge_ favor."

"Tell me where to go and I'll turn around at the next exit." What in the world was going on? Whatever it was, it sounded bad.

"That was Katie. She lost her job a month ago and she's about to be evicted-"

"Yes."

He stopped and frowned, "Yes what?"

"She can stay with us as long as she needs to."

Relief washed over Severide as he leaned across the seat and kissed her cheek, "Thank you."

"Baby, you know your family is welcome any time." Had he honestly thought that she'd say no? She'd never met Katie, but he'd told her about his half-sister. She sounded like a nice, level-headed young lady.

"I know, but it's your apartment-"

"_Our_ apartment. You have a say-so in things, too, y'know. I have no problem whatsoever with Katie staying with us."

He smiled and kissed her again, "You're the best." Quickly, he called Katie back, "Hey. It's fine; we have a spare bedroom. …We won't be back until Sunday, okay? …I promise, it's fine. Do you need any money? …Are you sure? …Don't worry about anything, alright? We'll get it all straightened out. You can stay with us as long as you need to. We'll find you a job, and everything will be fine. …Call me if you need anything or if, y'know, you just wanna talk. …I'll tell her. …Okay. …Hey, Katie? …I love you. …Bye."

"Is she gonna be okay until we get back?" Taylor asked as he ended the call.

"She says she will be." He sat his phone in his cup holder, "She wanted me to tell you thanks."

She waved one hand dismissively, "Ah, it ain't no thing. Does she need money?"

"No. Fortunately, she had some saved back. …I really appreciate you letting her stay with us."

"Hey, _ohana_. Nobody gets left behind."

He laughed, "Look at you getting all _Lilo and Stitch_ over there."

Taylor grinned, "So you _did_ see it."

"…Touché."

…

Taylor sang along with every song on the radio. How she knew the lyrics to _every_ song, Severide had no idea. In between songs, she'd been asking him to sing with her for a good two hours now. Finally, about halfway through Justin Moore's _Point at You_, he gave up and started singing with her. He had _no_ singing talent whatsoever and made sure not to sing above Taylor or the music. He tried to lip sync at first, but she saw right through that. It was beyond embarrassing, but it made her happy, so he endured it.

The rain hadn't let up. They were about twenty miles from the Tennessee line. Taylor's dad had called her and told her that the fence mending was on hold until after the rain passed. When she had told him about Severide coming, he had responded with, "Good. We can use an extra set of hands."

"We'll switch over to Twenty-Four in Nashville." Taylor said, "Won't be too much farther from there."

"You haven't looked at a map or anything since we left." Severide tried not to sound like he doubted her navigational skills, but…she seriously hadn't checked a map, or GPS on her phone, or anything. In fact, he really didn't remember her checking anything after she'd shown him their route on MapQuest.

Taylor tapped the side of her head, "Don't need it. I memorized the directions before I moved to Chicago."

"Okay." He was quiet for a moment before asking, "Can I ask you something really personal?"

She frowned, "I guess."

"Why did you leave Georgia?"

How could she explain that? Her reasons for leaving were numerous and varied. Some of them were really personal, and some of them were honestly silly. But, he deserved an answer. He was her fiancé, and he deserved to know why she had left her home state so far behind. Taylor sighed, "Have you ever felt stuck? Like you were just spinning tires, not really getting anywhere in life?"

Severide nodded.

"That's how I felt. It started about a year after Jason died. Everywhere I went, it was always 'oh, there's Officer Taylor's widow', and 'poor Shelby', and stuff like that. It got old. So, I started thinking about moving. I wanted a fresh start, and moving seemed like a good first step. But, I had to save up for it. That's why it took me so long. And, during that time, I got restless. Outside of tourist season, not a lot goes on in Dawsonville, or in Dawson County for that matter. I got promoted to Captain, but that was boring as-"

At that, he interrupted her, "Wait, what? _Captain_?"

"Yep."

Severide was floored, "You _outrank _me?" Why was he just _now_ finding out about this? And why had she taken a firefighter job? She could be running 51 and giving Chief Boden a break!

"I don't now." Was he angry with her? She probably should have told him about being a Captain before now, but it had never come up.

"Baby, _why_ didn't you take the Captain spot that was open on the South Side? Why did you take the spot on Squad? The difference in pay is huge!"

She shrugged, "I make more as a firefighter in Chicago than I did as a Captain in Georgia. And, besides, I hated it. Plus, if I'd taken that job, we wouldn't have met."

"That's true. Why did you hate being a Captain?"

"I'm a firefighter, honey, not a pencil-pusher. You think you have a lot of paperwork? Take yours, Casey's, and multiply it by about ten."

He could understand that. "So, why Chicago?"

She chuckled and blushed a little, "Um…so, you know how people decide to take random road trips and throw a dart at a map to choose their destination?"

Severide laughed. He couldn't help it. "Seriously? _That's_ how you picked Chicago?"

Taylor nodded, "Yep."

"Wow."

"Wanna know something crazy?"

"Crazier than throwing a dart at a map?"

She reached across the seat and gave him a playful shove, "Yes."

"I'm all ears."

"I looked up the area of Chicago that the dart landed on and worked it down to where the tip hit. Turns out, I hit the parking lot."

"Of Fifty-One?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"We'll call it divine intervention."

…

Severide awoke in front of a brick wall. It startled him at first, then he realized that they were sitting still. It was dark outside, and still raining. They had arrived.

"Hey." Taylor said, removing her key from the ignition.

"Hey." He stretched, "When did I fall asleep?"

She thought for a minute, "Mmmm, about halfway through Nashville."

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door, "Let's go inside."

Quickly, they grabbed their bags from the back seat and hurried inside, trying not to get soaked in the driving rain.

The room was nice. The living area/kitchenette came first, then came a little hallway area that held a closet and the bathroom, and finally, the bedroom.

"I like the room." Taylor said, sitting her bags down beside the TV.

"Good." Severide wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her backward against his chest. She was wearing a short-sleeved plaid button-up top, and he'd been itching to undo those buttons all day.

"What're you doing?" she smiled, watching his fingers go to work.

"What do think I'm doing?" He had her shirt off in no time, dropping kisses down her neck and across her shoulders as he continued to disrobe her.

She turned around in his arms and worked his t-shirt up and over his head. Capturing his lips in hers, she went to work on his belt and jeans.

He couldn't wait any longer. He picked her up and laid her gently onto the bed, then tugged her boots and jeans off, wasting no time getting both of them naked. Instead of just jumping into it, Severide paused and stroked Taylor's cheek. "I don't know what I did to deserve you," he murmured, kissing her softly, "But I'm glad I did it."

…

Author's Note: I have to give credit to TheIrishShipperholic for giving me the idea to bring Katie back. I have many ideas for Miss Katie. ;) Thanks to Sarrabr4, TheIrishShipperholic, HermioneandMarcus, and RBCFCPD7410 for the reviews! Thanks to RooBoo1, CMPunkOrton, , Ain'tEasyBeingBreezy, and katespc123 for the favorites and follows! And thanks to all of my readers! Hope everyone had a Happy New Year, and here's to an awesome 2015!


	19. Chapter 19

"_Kelly_, _wake_ _**up**_!"

Severide bolted upright, half screaming "Shay!" Chest heaving, he turned toward Taylor, but instead found himself face-to-face with Shay. He started to reach for her, but Shay's features changed. Her skin and hair darkened, then faded away. In a matter of seconds, he was looking at Taylor instead of his beloved Shay. The reality of Shay's death came crashing down onto him all over again, and Severide dissolved into tears.

Taylor wrapped her arms around her grieving fiancé and pulled him close. In his nightmares, Severide was still trying to save Shay. She had begun to notice that the nightmares came more frequently when he was stressed. And he was certainly stressed now with having to meet her family and worrying about Katie. This one, though, had been the worst nightmare since the one-year anniversary of Shay's death. That day had been extremely hard, and the subsequent nightmare had been even harder. "I've got you, baby." she soothed, rocking slowly from side to side, "You're safe. I'm right here."

He clung to her, trying desperately to rid his mind of the image of Shay. "I'm sorry." he managed at length.

"It's alright, sweetheart." she murmured, kissing his forehead. Oh, how she wished she could take his pain away. Unfortunately, this kind of pain had to work itself away. It wasn't something that just left. She of all people knew that. Even now, going on eleven years later, she still had the occasional nightmare about the awful day the sheriff and chaplain had come for her at the firehouse. Slowly, she eased herself back down, pulling him gently down with her. "Let it out." she whispered, pulling the blanket up around his shoulders. "I've got you."

He settled against her, trying to calm down. He hated this. He hated having these nightmares. He hated waking up screaming. And he hated waking Taylor up in the dead of night. "I'm sorry." he said again.

"Don't apologize, baby. I promised you a long time ago that I was gonna help you through this, and I meant it."

This was one of the many reasons why he loved her. Anyone else would've been fed up with him by now. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She gave him a gentle squeeze and began to run her fingers through his hair, trying to lull him back to sleep.

He closed his eyes. Focusing on the steady beat of her heart, he made himself breathe slower.

"I've got you, Kelly." Taylor whispered, kissing his hair, "You're safe. …Go back to sleep, sweetheart."

...

Severide awoke surrounded by warmth. Taylor's arms were still wrapped tightly around him. Her heart beat steadily against his cheek. He felt awful for waking her earlier. The nightmares had let up for a while, but last night...last night had been horrible. It had almost been as bad as the anniversary nightmare. Any other woman would've given up on him by now. Not Taylor. She'd experienced the same hell he had, but at a much younger age. Having her by his side made everything bearable. She kept him sane. It was going to be really hard working without her. But, soon she would be his forever.

He smiled at the thought. Marriage had become a curse word to him after Renée. But now...now it was all he wanted. Shelby Severide. It had a nice ring to it.

Softly, Taylor kissed his hair, "Hey baby. "

"Hey." He propped himself up on one elbow and kissed her tenderly, "Sorry I woke you up."

"It's fine, sweetheart." She stroked his cheek, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. ...That one was pretty bad." He let her pull him back into her arms. Fragments of the nightmare tugged at his memory and he shuddered, making Taylor tighten her embrace.

She held him in silence for several minutes, listening to the rain beating against the window. She didn't know what to do for him other than offering comfort and support. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can't right now." He breathed in her scent, wishing for all the world that he could stop putting her through this. He knew it had to bring up the memories of losing Jason, and that had to hurt.

"Okay." She kissed him softly and began to run her hand up and down his arm.

He needed to change the subject, "What're we doing today since it's raining?"

"I'd like to take you to the Fallen Officers Memorial. And to the graveyard, if that's okay."

"That's fine." He began to draw small circles on her stomach with one finger. Her skin was always soft and warm. It felt good to have her body against his with nothing between them.

Another silence fell, this one being more comfortable than the last. Severide let his circles become caresses, smiling to himself as he watched goose bumps rise on Taylor's skin. Taylor sighed contentedly, enjoying the sensation of his hand gliding over her body.

Severide propped himself up again. Tenderly, he stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. The way she looked at him took his breath away. No one had ever looked at him with so much love in their eyes. "I can't wait to marry you." he murmured.

"I can't wait to marry you." Taylor reached up and gently pulled him into an impassioned kiss.

As he kissed her, he moved, carefully positioning himself over her. She moaned softly against his lips as he eased himself into the warmth of her body. He started off slowly, wanting to make the most of their time alone and away from Chicago and Firehouse 51.

"Kelly…" Taylor breathed as he trailed kisses down her neck.

"What, baby?" he asked between kisses.

"You feel so good." Her hands danced over his back, then across his sides, and finally up his chest, leaving tingles in their wake.

"So do you." He went deeper, loving the way she arched her back as he did. He entwined his fingers with hers and pinned her hands gently to the pillow.

The feeling of him moving inside of her was almost indescribable. Words like amazing, and wonderful, and euphoric just simply didn't do it justice. Perfect was as close as she could get. It didn't just apply to their love life, either. What they had was the stuff Hallmark movies were made of. She loved this man more than she ever thought she was capable of loving a man. Freeing herself easily from his hands, she pulled him down on top of her.

Then, without warning, she flipped Severide onto his back.

Severide grunted softly as he found himself looking up at Taylor. She grinned at him. This should be fun.

She began to move on top of him, loving the way his eyes closed slowly and his lips parted slightly as he relaxed into the pillow.

"Shelby…" he breathed, running his hands up her thighs to her hips. He loved it when she was on top.

Taylor leaned forward enough to trail kisses and soft nibbles up his neck and along his jawline. He shivered and moaned beneath her. She loved it. She loved being able to please him. She loved having the power to make him tremble and moan at her touch. He was hers, and she was his. Severide opened his eyes, and Taylor found herself getting lost in his sultry stare.

Severide couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed Taylor's hips and flipped her over. "I love you." he said, his voice husky with desire, as he captured her lips in a deep kiss.

"I love you, too." she managed to say between kisses.

He thrust deep into her, making her gasp. Before she could recover, he began to pound into her depths. She clung to him, digging her fingers into his shoulders. He could feel his release building deep within. She was getting close, too – he could tell by the way she was breathing. He hit her sweet spot dead on, and she cried his name as her orgasm washed over her. Unable to hold back, he buried himself as deeply into her quivering warmth as he could and came.

Panting, Taylor reached up and softly stroked his cheek.

He leaned into her warmth, trying to catch his breath.

From the nightstand, Taylor's phone rang.

"Seriously?" Taylor groaned.

Severide leaned over enough to read the name on the screen, "It's your dad."

Quickly, she scrambled for her phone, "Hello?"

"Hey, girl." Taylor's dad said, "You sound awfully winded. Everything okay?"

It was all Severide could do to stifle a laugh.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Taylor's face was bright red, "We were out for a run."

"In the rain?"

"It's just water."

"…I'll never understand you, girl. Are y'all comin' over for supper tonight?"

She looked at Severide, who shrugged, "I reckon."

"Okay. Just makin' sure. I'll see y'all here d'reckly."

"Okay. Love you, daddy."

"Love you, too."

"D'reckly?" Severide asked as Taylor ended the call, trying to recreate the foreign word that her father had used.

"Directly is what it's actually supposed to be." Taylor explained, "It's used here in the context of 'I'll see you soon' or 'I'll see you after while'."

He nodded, "I see."

She grinned, "You're learning."

He smiled, "If that's what we're calling it."

"I'll make a country boy out of you yet." She raised up and kissed him, "You just wait and see."

…

Taylor had gotten very quiet by the time they reached the cemetery.

Severide put one hand on her knee as he noticed that she was chewing on her bottom lip. This was a hard thing for her.

The path was narrow and winding. Taylor's truck barely fit on the pavement. It was a good thing that they hadn't met anyone. Perhaps even more fortunate was the fact that the rain had let up for the time being.

The big Silverado slowed to a stop somewhere near the middle of the cemetery and the engine went silent. They had arrived.

Taylor sat still for a moment, looking out over the neat rows, steeling herself.

"You okay?" Severide asked, giving her knee a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah." Taylor lied, her voice wavering as she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door, "Let's go."

Severide grabbed the flowers that they had picked up on the way and hurried around the truck to take Taylor's hand. He gave her a reassuring squeeze as they started out into the wet grass.

Six rows from the driveway stood a headstone with a sheriff's star emblazoned in the center. The name beneath the star read 'TAYLOR'. It was a nice stone, black in color with a sheriff's patrol car etched into its face.

They paused for a moment before Taylor took the flowers and knelt before Jason's stone, placing them on the edge of the base. She put one hand on the top of the stone and buried her face in the crook of her arm.

When he saw her shoulders start to shake, Severide knelt beside Taylor and wrapped his arms around her.

She leaned into him and squeezed her eyes shut as the tears cascaded down her cheeks. _He's not here. He's not here._ she kept telling herself, _His body is here, but that's all. He's with you all the time._

Severide kissed her hair and tightened his arms around her. "It's okay." he whispered, "I've got you."

By now, Taylor was shaking hard. It had been a long, long time since coming here had affected her like this. She tried to make herself stop crying, but it wasn't happening. "I'm sorry." she managed, "I don't usually get like this."

"It's fine, baby girl." he murmured, kissing her again. He held her for several minutes before she calmed down enough to slowly pull away.

"Ready?" she asked, wiping her face again.

"If you are."

She kissed her fingers and pressed them against Jason's name, "I am."

"Okay." He stood as she did, but caught her in a tight hug before she could start back toward the truck, "I love you."

She kissed his neck, "I love you."

Severide kept one arm around her shoulders as they returned to the truck. "Sure you're okay?" he asked as he climbed into the passenger seat.

"I'm good." She started the engine and carefully maneuvered the rest of the way around the cemetery and back to the exit.

They hadn't even gone a quarter of a mile before blue lights lit up the rearview mirror.

…

Author's Note: Thanks to TheIrishShipperholic, Sarrabr4, HermioneandMarcus, and RBCFCPD7410 for the reviews! Thanks also to dallyheartace, loveblondie, and Catherinealice for the favorites and follows! And, as always, thanks to all of my readers! It's a balmy 25 degrees here in the bluegrass - up from two below this morning! Stay safe and warm!


	20. Chapter 20

"Son of a bitch!" Taylor spat, pulling over. "I drive eighty-five and ninety the whole damn way down here and get pulled over doing _fifty in a fifty-five!_"

Severide watched the sheriff's officer as he got out of his car. The man had an odd look on his face. It wasn't the typical strict cop face. It was...the beginnings of a smile? That couldn't be right. Cops didn't smile during traffic stops.

Taylor rolled her window down and watched the officer approach. She grinned when she recognized who it was, "Aw, hell; that's just Sam."

Before Severide could ask who Sam was, the officer was reaching through Taylor's window to give her a hug.

"I thought that was you!" Sam said, releasing Taylor, "How's life up north?"

Taylor laughed, "Cold and windy. How's everything been around here?"

"Same ol' same ol'. You back or just visitin'?"

"Just visiting this time."

He nodded, "Who's your shotgun rider?"

She pointed to Severide, "This is my fiancé."

Severide leaned across the seat to shake the officer's hand, "Kelly Severide."

Sam returned the handshake, "Sam Catron. I'm the sheriff around here. You a firefighter too?"

"Yes sir."

"I figured; you look like a firefighter. Where y'all headed?"

"I'm gonna show Kelly the Fallen Officers Memorial." Taylor answered.

Sam nodded, "I take it you've been past the cemetery, then."

"Yeah."

He turned his attention to Severide, "Jason Taylor was one of the finest officers to ever serve this county. And Shelby here was one of the best firefighters."

Severide smiled as he saw Taylor blush, "Is that so?"

"Hey, if y'all are heading to the memorial, I'll follow you. I've got something for you at the office if you want it."

Taylor shrugged, curious but cautious, "Okay."

"See you there." Sam patted her shoulder and nodded to Severide before returning to his car.

"He seems nice." Severide said, watching the sheriff leave.

"Yeah, Sam's pretty cool." Taylor pulled back onto the road, "He's been the sheriff for as far back as I can remember."

Severide nodded.

"Can't think of what he could possibly have for me, though. Hope it's nothing bad."

…

The German shepherd was ancient. Gray fur was scattered all about his face and nose. He entered the room slowly with his head down and Severide wondered if he was blind. The dog sat before the officer who had led him into the sheriff's office, not looking up at anyone. That is, until he heard his name.

"Enzo." Taylor whispered the dog's name so quietly that Severide was surprised he heard it.

Instantly, the dog's ears perked and he looked up.

Taylor sank to her knees, "Hi, baby."

And suddenly, Enzo was no longer an old, nearly crippled dog. He crossed the room with unnerving speed, heading straight for Taylor. He knocked her backwards in his excitement, licking her face and trying really hard to climb into her arms.

Taylor laughed as she hugged him, "Hi there, sweet thing." She sat up and proceeded to give him a thorough petting.

"He's yours if you want him." Sam said, "We finally retired him shortly after you moved away. I think he knew when you left; he's been really depressed."

Taylor looked up at Severide, her eyes imploring.

Severide realized that she was asking his permission to take the dog home. He realized in the same moment that Enzo must've been Jason's K-9. Knowing how much the elderly dog must mean, he smiled at her.

The grin that lit Taylor's face was priceless. "Do you want to go home with mommy this time?" she asked Enzo.

He barked in response.

Taylor laughed, "I think that means yes."

Cautiously, Enzo moved from Taylor to Severide. He sniffed Severide's hand, somewhat confused by the man who looked kind of like his first handler but smelled like someone else.

"It's okay, Enzo. That's your new daddy." Taylor said.

Enzo nuzzled Severide's hand, indicating that he wanted to be petted. Once Severide obliged, his tail swished happily back and forth.

"You're awfully friendly to be a cop." Severide teased, kneeling cautiously before the massive dog. He would've hated to come up against Enzo in his younger days; German shepherds could do a lot of damage.

"He can get unfriendly real quick." Taylor said as she stood.

"I'm sure." He scratched behind one of Enzo's ears, chuckling when the dog cocked his head sideways, allowing for better scratching.

Sam smiled, happy that Enzo had snapped out of his depression, "I'll get the paperwork together."

…

The visit to the Fallen Officer's Memorial had gone much better than the cemetery visit. They had even stopped by Taylor's old firehouse on the way to her parents' house. But, they were on their way now, following the highway out of Dawsonville and into the countryside.

Severide was nervous.

Taylor could feel his unease. She took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly, "It'll be okay. I promise."

"Yeah." He tried to give her a confident smile, but he wasn't sure of how convincing it was.

About twenty minutes out of town, Taylor turned off of the highway onto a rural road. They went about a mile, then turned onto a gravel road. Severide was thoroughly lost by the time Taylor turned onto a muddy, tree-lined driveway. The name on the mailbox that they turned beside was Davis.

The driveway had been transformed into a muddy, puddle-laden mess by the heavy rain. Several of the puddles were quite large. They were absolutely perfect. "Hold on." Taylor warned, gunning the engine.

Severide held on tight as the Silverado bounded through the puddles, splashing mud and water everywhere.

Taylor laughed as she hit one puddle that was so large it splashed muddy water all over the windshield. Quickly, she switched on the windshield wipers, trying to clear away the muck, which smeared for a moment, then dissolved with the help of wiper fluid. Her tires caught in the mud and they got sideways for several feet before she straightened the truck back out. She would've loved to have hammered on it and slung mud the entire way, but she knew that if she did, her father would make her fix the driveway.

Despite his nerves, Severide laughed along with her. This was actually kind of fun. It was like being a kid again, only with a much bigger toy.

The driveway ended all too soon, though, at a two-story white farmhouse. They had arrived.

Taylor parked the truck in front of the garage beside a red older model Jeep Cherokee. The Jeep was covered in fresh mud. Luke was here. A shiny little powder blue convertible BMW M4 was parked beside Luke's Jeep. Catherine was here, too. Fabulous. Before they got out, she turned to Severide, "Ready?"

He sighed, "As I'll ever be."

Enzo followed behind Taylor as they made the short walk to the back door. It had been a long time since he'd been here. His tail wagged slightly as familiar scents reached his sensitive nose.

Taylor took a breath, and knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door swung open, revealing a tall, stocky man with dark hair and dark eyes. He had a huge US Marines tattoo on his left forearm. He looked like somebody you wouldn't want to mess with. The man smiled as soon as he saw Taylor.

"Hey, dad." Taylor said as the mountain of a man gave her a tight hug.

"Hey, kid." he grinned, kissing her cheek. Then, he turned his attention to Severide, holding his hand out, "Mike Davis."

Severide returned the handshake, "Kelly Severide."

"You can tell a lot about a man by his handshake." Mike said, stepping aside to let them in. He clapped Severide's shoulder, "I like you already."

…

Author's Note: I also own Sam, Enzo, and Mike. As per one of my many New Year's resolutions, I'm trying to favorite/follow everyone who has favorited/followed me. So, if I've missed you, please tell me! Thanks to HermioneandMarcus, RBCFCPD7410, TheIrishShipperholic, Sarrabr4, and 2NYwLove for the reviews! Thanks to You cant rush science, MarveyGirl, and kmdh27 for the follows/favorites! And, as always, thanks to my readers!

_Je suis Charlie!_

_Vive la France!_


	21. Chapter 21

"Hey!" Luke exclaimed, coming into the mud room. He gave Taylor a quick hug and kiss, then shook Severide's hand, "Good to see you upright, man."

"It's good to be upright." Severide chuckled. He was surprised to see how closely his brother-in-law-to-be resembled Mike.

"Is that who I think it is?" Luke knelt before Enzo and patted his head, "Hey, buddy. I didn't think you were still around."

Enzo let his tongue loll out happily, enjoying the attention.

"Judy! Kids are here!" Mike hollered, motioning for everyone to follow him.

"Stay, Enzo." Taylor said, taking Severide's hand as they followed her father into the dining room.

Two women sat at the food-laden table. The older, auburn-haired woman immediately gave Severide a disapproving look, "You're late, Shelby."

Taylor rolled her eyes, "Good to see you, too, mom."

"Julie," Mike's tone was tinted with warning, "We discussed this."

The younger woman adjusted the Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses that were perched atop her head and gave her dyed-blonde hair a flirty flip, eyeing Severide from top to bottom, "Shelby, you didn't tell me that your boyfriend was so good looking."

"Fiancé." Taylor corrected, "And I didn't tell you for good reason." She pointed to each woman as she spoke, "That's my mom, Julie, and that's my hooker sister, Catherine."

"Shelby LeAnn…" Mike growled.

Taylor shrugged, "If the broom fits…"

Hoping to diffuse a potentially volatile situation, Severide spoke up, "Nice to finally meet both of you. I'm Kelly Severide."

Julie motioned for them to take a seat, "Kelly. Is that a family name?"

Severide held Taylor's chair out for her, then took the seat that was the farthest away from Catherine, "Yes, ma'am."

"And a gentleman, too!" Catherine purred.

Taylor picked up a steak knife and toyed casually with it, "Where's your boyfriend, Cat? You suck the blood outta that one, too?"

"He had court today." Catherine huffed, "The jury is still out, so he'll be late."

Severide took the knife away from Taylor and handed it across the table to Luke.

"Amy should be here with the kids any minute." Luke sat the knife well out of Taylor's reach, "Hunter's football practice ran late."

"How many kids do you have, Luke?" Severide asked, trying to keep the conversation light.

Luke grinned, "Two. A boy and a girl. We're wanting to adopt another one, but we haven't decided if we want a boy or a girl."

"I'm hopin' I get another grandson." Mike smiled, nudging Luke with his elbow.

"Do _you_ have children, Kelly?" Julie inquired.

"No, ma'am." Severide chuckled, "I can barely keep up with my squad, let alone kids."

"That's right, you _are_ an officer." Catherine started to lean forward suggestively, but paused when Mike gave her a sharp look, "How interesting."

Severide shrugged, "It has its days."

"Any word on when you two can start makin' plans?" Mike asked.

Taylor sighed, "I wish."

"Transfers are unpredictable." Severide explained, "Sometimes they happen in a matter of days, and sometimes it's weeks or months. The department is full right now. All we can do is wait."

Julie spoke up, "Have you picked a church yet?"

Taylor shook her head, "We haven't picked anything yet."

"You have to have a church. It's not a proper wedding without a church!"

At that moment, the front door opened and a small thunderstorm entered the house.

"But _mom!_" whined a young teenage girl, "All my friends are going!"

"I said no, Ivy, and that's final!" A woman who looked to be a little older than Taylor entered the dining room with two children in tow.

"Aunt Shelby!" the younger boy cried, running to hug Taylor.

"Hey, young'n!" Taylor exclaimed, hugging him tightly, "How was practice?"

The boy's face lit up with excitement, "Awesome! They want me to play with the fifth graders!"

Taylor gasped, "No way!"

"Way!"

"That's so cool!" She hugged him again, then gestured toward Severide, "Hey, say hi to my fiancé."

The boy turned around and held his hand out to Severide, "Hi. I'm Hunter."

Severide smiled as he shook Hunter's hand, "I'm Kelly. It's nice to meet you."

"That's my sister-in-law, Amy, and my niece, Ivy." Taylor gave Amy a small wave.

"So this is the famous Kelly Severide." Amy grinned as she shook Severide's hand. "I've heard a lot about you. Welcome to the family."

…

Mike wanted to get an early start the next morning. As in, everybody was to report for duty at seven-thirty sharp to begin replacing the aging electric fence that ran most of the length of the farm. He purposefully paired his children together so that he could speak to his future son-in-law in relative privacy. He even made sure that Enzo was out of earshot.

"Sorry if yesterday was a little rough." Mike began as he pushed against a metal fencepost, testing its strength, "It won't happen again."

Severide shrugged, "Yesterday was fine."

Mike gave him a yeah-right look, "It won't happen again. Julie and Catherine like to stir the pot and keep a ruckus going. I don't know why. I guess it's a woman thing." He decided the post was good and removed the wire from the insulator. "…I'd like to talk to ya, son." He tested the next post, decided it was weak, removed the wire and insulator, and pulled it up easily.

"Okay." Severide stuck a new post into the ground close to the old post's hole and drove it home with the sledgehammer.

"I understand your girlfriend was killed in the line of duty a little more than a year ago." He replaced the insulator and moved to the next post.

That made Severide pause. Girlfriend. Shay. He supposed 'girlfriend' would've gone over considerably better in this part of the country than 'lesbian best friend/roommate.' "Yeah, she was."

"Then you know what Shelby went through."

Another post came up and was quickly replaced, "I do."

"She's tough. Toughest one I've got." He tested another post and deemed it passable, "I'm awful proud of her. I don't like the fact that she's in danger ninety percent of the time, but somebody's gotta do it. I worry about her constantly. I know she knows what she's doin', but still…"

Severide nodded, "She's good."

Mike smiled, "How many guys get to say that their daughter is a firefighter with the city of Chicago?"

"Not many." He was glad that Taylor's father wasn't as staunchly opposed to her being a firefighter as other members of the family were.

Deciding that they were far enough away from Luke and Taylor to be overheard, Mike turned to face Severide, "You love her, don't you? I can tell by the way you look at her."

Severide answered honestly, "I do. With everything I am."

He nodded, "Good. She's my little girl, son. Take care of her for me."

…

Author's Note: I own Catherine, Julie, Hunter, Ivy, and Amy. Thanks to RBCFCPD7410, TheIrishShipperholic, HermioneandMarcus, Sarrabr4, and 2NYwLove for the reviews! Thanks to Danielle89, MrsElijahMikaelson27, Ch3rryies, lizzt-marie0623, mich-shelly, rednikee, and girlwiththerednails for the favorites/follows! And thanks to all who read!

I'm gonna cut the Georgia trip short. I've got about 12 full notes on my phone that I am _dying_ to put into this story!


	22. Chapter 22

"How was Georgia?"

Severide couldn't help but smile as he looked up at Casey, "It was good. Hot as hell, but good. We have a dog now."

Casey raised his eyebrows, "A dog?"

"Yeah." Severide pulled up a picture of Enzo on his phone and handed it to Casey, "His name's Enzo. He was Jason's K-9. The sheriff's department retired him last year, and when they heard Shelby was back in town, the sheriff himself asked her if she wanted him."

"Wow, he's old." Casey handed the phone back.

"Yeah. I'm guessing maybe eleven or twelve. He's probably got another year or so."

"How was her family?"

Severide thought for a moment before finally saying, "Interesting. You've met Luke already; he's pretty cool. So is his wife. Shelby's older sister is a bitch and a half, and her mom hates me. Her dad is awesome, though."

Casey chuckled, then became serious. He stepped into Severide's office and shut the door, "Listen, I need to tell you something, but you can't tell Taylor. At least not yet."

Severide sighed, expecting to be told that Taylor's transfer was going through first instead of Dawson's. "Okay."

"I haven't told Gabby, either. I'm not going to until we see how this plays out." Casey shut the blinds, "Last shift, Chief called me into his office. Apparently, the city has received a conditional donation."

Confused, Severide frowned, "A 'conditional donation'?"

"Yeah. A _seven_ _figure_ one. But, they only get it if Gabby and Taylor get to stay here."

The hair on the back of Severide's neck stood up, "Nobody knows about that outside of the fire department."

"Well, somebody does. Three guesses who it is."

"But, we haven't seen him since that fire!"

"I know. Which tells me he has people watching us. Chief said the city will have us an answer sometime today."

"Wait - the city is actually _considering_ taking a bribe?!"

Casey shrugged, "Times are tough, I guess."

"So…what about all of us getting married?"

"That's also a condition. We have to be allowed to get married."

Wow. Just like that, all of their problems were solved. Taylor didn't have to leave, and neither did Dawson. And they could all go ahead with their weddings, too! But, something was horribly, awfully wrong about this. What was the motivation behind the donation? Severide had a hard time believing that anyone could be that generous. And, how did Mr. Accardo even know about their dilemma? How many people did he have watching them? How _long_ had they been watched? …Perhaps most importantly, what was the price that they were going to have to pay for this "conditional donation"? "Matt, I don't like this."

"I don't either. Something big is about to go down. And I don't want to be caught in the middle of it."

"Nor do I."

"And, get this – there's a class of girls coming from a fancy private school today. Somebody set up a tour for them. What are the odds that some millionaire's little snot-nosed brat is gonna become a firefighter? I'd bet money on Mr. Accardo's girl being in that group."

…

Otis stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the break room. Cruz nearly ran him over, but he barely noticed. The woman that he was staring at had her back turned to him. Could it be? Was it possible? No, surely not! She was in Colorado now. …Right? "Katie?" He'd spoken before he realized that her name had formed on his lips.

Recognizing the voice from behind her, Katie turned around. A smile slowly spread across her face when she saw who had spoken. "Hi, Otis."

He ran to her. He couldn't help it. He had to touch her, to hold her, to make sure that this wasn't a dream. She returned his embrace with the same intensity. "I missed you." he whispered, burying his face in her hair and inhaling her familiar scent.

"I missed you, too."

After a long moment, he released her from the hug, but kept his hands on her arms, "What're you doing here?" He wanted to kiss her so badly!

Katie sighed sadly, "I lost my job a month ago. I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"I'm so sorry." Carefully, he brushed a stray strand of hair back into its place behind her ear. Severide would rip him in half if he caught them right now, but Otis didn't care. Katie was back, and that was all that mattered.

She shrugged, "It's okay. Kelly and Shelby let me have the spare bedroom. I'll be back on my feet soon."

"Can I take you out after shift?" Otis stumbled a little, fearing that he had been too forward, "Please? To catch up?" He had to be near her again, even if it was just over coffee. His heart was racing. Could she hear it?

Katie smiled, making him melt, "I'd like that."

At that moment, Taylor entered the break room with a group of about fifteen little girls in tow. Quickly, Otis dropped his hands into his pockets. Macy Accardo was holding on tightly to Taylor's right hand. "This is the break room and kitchen." Taylor was saying, "Nothing super fancy here. That's my sister, Katie, and Otis from Truck over by the stove, and over here on the couch is Joe from Truck and our puppy, Pouch."

The girls squealed with delight as Pouch came bounding over for some attention. Cruz grinned as he watched the girls love on Pouch. From his spot on the couch, Enzo watched the puppy-petting-fest with mild interest.

"What, bub?" Taylor asked, reaching over to scratch behind the German shepherd's ear, "Not feelin' the little ones today?"

Enzo huffed and laid his chin onto the arm rest.

Taylor chuckled and patted his side.

…

Casey, Dawson, Severide, and Taylor all stood in stunned silence in Chief Boden's office. The city had accepted the "conditional donation". Their ordeal was over. No one had to leave. They could get married _and_ stay at 51.

Taylor was the first to recover, "What's the catch?"

Boden shrugged, "As long as we hold up our end of the deal, there is no catch."

"No, there's a string somewhere." Casey said.

"Why is Mr. Accardo giving all this money to the fire department?" Severide wondered, "Is he trying to avoid taxes, or what?"

Dawson hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "Word on the street is there's been a 'disagreement' within the mob. PD is aware of it, but they can't do anything because they don't know what the disagreement is about."

"So, we're about to be caught up in a mafia feud?" A primal need to protect that which was his arose in Severide, and he took Taylor's hand, pulling her close. He was not about to let the mob come after his wife.

Worry laced Boden's words, "I sure hope not."

…

Author's Note: Thanks to Sarrabr4, TheIrishShipperholic, HermioneandMarcus, and RBCFCPD7410 for the reviews! Thanks to edenn713 for the follow!


	23. Chapter 23

WARNING: This chapter contains some strong language.

…

Casey stood in the hallway, listening to the footsteps that quickly approached on the other side of the door. Enzo was growling, but stopped when the footsteps got close. There was a brief pause, then the chain slid to the side and the lock turned. He really hoped that Severide would be the one to open the door. He hadn't known where else to go.

"Lieutenant Casey!" Taylor exclaimed, surprised that he was their unexpected guest. She saw the look in his eyes and immediately became concerned, "Are you okay?"

Casey shook his head, fighting the sting of the tears that were beginning to gather, "Is Severide here?"

"Yeah, he's in the kitchen." She stepped aside so that he could come in and quickly locked the door back, "Lieutenant, what's wrong?"

His throat tightened as he spoke, "The chain broke."

She wrapped her arms around his neck as his words clicked, "Oh, sweetheart. I'm so sorry."

Casey buried his face in her shoulder, sniffling despite his best efforts not to, "Can I borrow your couch tonight?"

"Absolutely. You can stay with us as long as you want."

"Thank you." He pulled away slowly and wiped his eyes. Realizing what hand he was using, he tried to quickly drop it to his side.

Taylor caught his hand before he could hide it, though. "What happened here?" she asked, inspecting his bloody knuckles.

Casey pulled away, "I had an accident."

She gave him a skeptical look, "Yeah, well, your 'accident' has pieces of drywall in it." She motioned toward the couch, "Grab a seat 'n I'll clean ya up."

"Thanks." He headed for the couch, wishing that he could just find a hole to crawl into and die.

Severide had heard them talking and was heading into the living room. "Matt, what's wrong?" he asked, seeing the look of pure misery on his friend's face.

"Gabby left." Casey sat down on the couch and buried his face in his hands, "We're done."

"Aw, man." Severide sat down beside his friend and put a hand on Casey's shoulder, "I'm sorry."

Taylor returned with the first aid kit and sat down in front of Casey on the coffee table. She pulled out gauze, tape, alcohol wipes, triple antibiotic cream, and tweezers. Carefully, she took Casey's hand and began picking the tiny pieces of drywall from his broken skin.

Casey watched her work, his face emotionless. He didn't feel anything, even though he knew he should be feeling the tweezers working. His entire body was numb, but his heart ached.

"This'll burn." Taylor warned, opening an alcohol wipe. He didn't even flinch as she cleaned his wounds. Once she was satisfied with her work, she smoothed a thick coat of triple antibiotic cream over his knuckles, then wrapped his hand with gauze and taped it off. "I'll change this for you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Taylor."

"You're welcome, Lieutenant. I'll get you some supper." She gathered the kit back up and returned to the kitchen, touching Severide's shoulder as she went.

"What happened?" Severide asked as soon as Taylor had left the room.

Casey stared at his bandaged hand, "I got home from a job, and we were gonna talk about some stuff, but...she had her bags packed when I got there. No explanation, no warning, nothing. She said it would be easier this way."

"And you just let her leave?"

"What was I supposed to do?"

"You coulda fought it. You coulda asked her to stay. You coulda tried to work it out."

"We've _been_ trying."

"Have you?"

Casey sighed heavily, "She wasn't happy. This whole working together thing was just too hard on her."

"So you just let her walk away?"

He nodded.

Exasperated, Severide shook his head. There was no way that he would let someone he loved just walk away without a fight. But, he'd seen the toll that the stress of working together had taken on Casey and Dawson. He just hoped that he and Taylor could work together without issues. "Stay here as long as you need to, okay?"

"Thanks, Sev."

...

Severide met Otis and Katie at the door when they returned from their date. He put a finger against his lips as he opened the door to let them in, then pointed toward the couch where Casey slept.

Otis frowned in confusion as he gestured toward his Lieutenant.

"Dawson left him." Severide whispered.

"What?!" Otis exclaimed, floored at this revelation.

"Shhh!" Severide scolded, "He's not taking it well."

"I bet." Otis shook his head, "Wow."

"Yeah. He showed up a couple of hours ago."

"Poor guy."

"Don't say anything, okay?" Severide glanced toward the couch, checking to make sure that Casey wasn't awake.

"Of course not." He froze when he felt Katie's hands move up his arm. Was she seriously doing this in front of her brother? Her _over-protective_ brother?

"Um…can Otis stay the night?" Katie asked, hugging Otis' arm.

Severide gave Otis a long, hard look before finally saying, "Otis, do you see that deer on the wall behind me?"

Otis nodded, "It's a nice buck."

"Shelby killed it the year before she moved up here. If I hear so much as one peep from that bedroom tonight, your head will be right beside it. Understood?"

Severide meant it, and Otis knew he meant it. He nodded quickly, "Copy that."

…

Casey awoke to the smell of bacon frying. At first, he was a little disoriented, then his hand throbbed and he remembered exactly where he was and why. Slowly, he rolled over and sat up. His stomach rumbled and he realized that he hadn't eaten anything since lunch yesterday. Today was a work day, so he had probably better eat something. Or at least try. With a sigh, he stood.

Severide was standing behind Taylor in the kitchen, his arms wrapped around her waist, chin resting on her shoulder. Taylor was working on breakfast, smiling when her husband-to-be kissed her cheek. It was a sweet, private moment, and it made Casey's heart wrench.

"Morning, Lieutenant." Otis casually said, emerging from Katie's bedroom, holding her hand.

Casey tried not to look as surprised as he felt, "Morning." Well, _this_ was awkward.

"Come eat, y'all." Taylor called from the kitchen.

As they filed into the kitchen, Casey tried not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. He was okay with Severide and Taylor knowing about his situation, but not with anyone else. Especially not someone from Truck.

"Coffee or tea?" Taylor asked.

"Coffee." Otis replied.

"You should try her sweet tea." Katie suggested, "It's actually really good."

Otis made a face, "_Sweet_ tea? Gross."

"It's better 'n that dirty dishwater you Yankees drink." Taylor joked, placing their drinks on the table. "_Un_sweetened tea! Yeesh! Blasphemy!"

"I'll have coffee, please." Casey quietly said.

"The tea really is good." Severide said, watching Taylor pour their glasses full.

"She's turning you, Severide." Otis teased. "You'll be whistling _Dixie_ next."

Severide made a face at him, "Whatever."

"You _did_ say y'all the other day."

"I did not!"

Katie giggled.

Casey chuckled, "You did, actually."

"I did not!" Severide looked to Taylor, "Did I?"

Taylor grinned.

"Oh crap."

…

Casey leaned against the break room table that he was sitting at, watching Taylor change his bandage. Chief Boden was off today, so he and Severide were in charge. As the gauze came off, he inspected his hand. It looked better, but it still hurt. "You should've been a medic, Taylor."

"I am, actually."

_That_ was surprising, "Really?"

"Yeah. Most of my old department was. When tourist season started, it was just too much for EMS to handle alone." She began to wrap his hand, "Didn't get to make too many runs after I got Captain, though."

"Wait, _what_?" Casey sat up, "You were a _Captain_?"

She looked up at him, "Y'all act like it's some kinda big deal. Yeah, I was a Captain. It was boring as hell. I make more as a firefighter here than I did as Captain back home."

"How was it boring?"

"You fight fire with water and foam, not a pen and paper. I'm a firefighter, not a secretary."

He nodded, "I guess that makes sense."

"Yeah. …Might want to let this get some air tonight." Taylor said, taping the gauze down.

Casey nodded, "I will."

"You're welcome to spend the night again if you want."

He gave her a small smile, "Thanks, Taylor."

"Matt, what happened to your hand?" Dawson asked, walking up to their table.

"I had an accident." Casey answered coolly as he stood up.

"An accident?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Taylor's been taking care of it." And, with that, he walked away.

Not wanting to be stuck in the middle of this, Taylor collected her first aid kit and started to walk away. The situation between Dawson and Casey had her more than a little irritated with Dawson right now, and it would be best for her to just walk away before she said something stupid.

Dawson caught her arm, "What did he do?"

"Don't worry about it." Taylor pulled away, "He's fine."

"But-"

And then she said something stupid. "If you were that concerned about him, you would've been home when it happened."

Anger flared within Dawson, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Taylor started to walk away again, "You need to get your shit together, Dawson."

Now, Dawson was furious, "Say that to my face, bitch!"

Something snapped within Taylor. She stopped. Nobody talked to her like that. _Nobody_. She was going on sixteen years of fire service now. She'd been a Captain for eight of those years. She'd broken her fair share of Candidates in her time, and she'd be _damned_ if this one was the exception. She whirled around, quickly closing the distance between them. As she spoke, her voice rose with each word, "You. Need. To. Get! Your! _SHIT! TOGETHER, CANDIDATE!_"

Dawson shoved Taylor backwards, "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

Taylor shoved her back. Hard. "I'm a firefighter who's sick of going to funerals." As she spoke, she jabbed one finger at Dawson, "You need to get your head out of your ass and back into the game! Quit worrying about your flavor of the week and start focusing on your fuckin' job! You're gonna get somebody killed, Dawson. I _will_ _not_ tolerate that bullshit on my watch! So either you get your shit together or I will get your shit together for you." She grabbed Dawson by the front of her shirt, dragging her forward, "And, believe me, you will _not_ like what I do."

"Hey!" Severide shouted, grabbing Taylor around the waist and pulling her off of Dawson, "That's enough!"

Mills grabbed Dawson's shoulders and pulled her backwards, away from Taylor.

Severide pointed to Dawson, "You, outside! You'll come in when I send for you." He turned to Taylor, eyes blazing, and spoke through gritted teeth, "In my office. _Now_."

…

Author's Note: Long chapter, I know! :) Thanks to HermioneandMarcus, RBCFCPD7410, TheIrishShipperholic, and Sarrabr4 for the reviews! Thanks to orlliie for the favorite! And thanks to everyone who reads my stuff!


	24. Chapter 24

WARNING: Adult stuff in this one.

…

"What the _hell_ was that?!" Severide demanded, slamming his office door hard enough that Taylor had honestly expected the glass to shatter.

Taylor shrugged, "She needs to have a knot jerked in her tail. She's gonna get herself or someone else killed."

"Shelby, you are _not_ in a position to speak to Candidates like that! You're not a Captain anymore!" He was well past being angry, "And you can_not_ put your hands on another person!"

"She pushed me!"

"I don't care! I don't know _what_ they let you get away with in Georgia -"

Becoming both angry and insulted, Taylor interrupted, "What they let me _get_ _away_ _with_?!"

Severide took a threatening step toward her, angrily jabbing a finger at her as he spoke, "You're in Chicago now, Shelby! You can't shoot your mouth off like that, and you can't get aggressive with another firefighter! For any reason! Ever! Period!"

Taylor threw up her hands, "Damnit, Kelly! _Somebody's_ got to rattle her! Obviously nobody else around here has the _balls_ to tell her to get her head out of her ass! She's got Mills _and_ Casey all tore up! That makes three with their heads in a mess. If they get into a pinch like me and you did last year,_ boom!_ Two dead firefighters _and_ a dead medic. I _ain't_ _goin'_ to another funeral of somebody I know! My nerves can't handle it. Dawson needed a swift kick, and I gave it to her." She took a step toward him, refusing to back down, "And if the need arises, I'll do it again."

She was right. He hated to admit it, but she was right. They couldn't afford to lose someone else. Severide took a deep breath and pushed one hand through his hair, trying to calm down. "If you do so much as look at her again during this shift, you're going home. Understood?"

Taylor gave him a cool look, "Yes sir."

"Dismissed."

…

Taylor was halfway up the hall when Severide roared, "Mills! Bring me Dawson!" She was met with stares when she walked into the break room and sat down beside Mouch on the couch.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Taylor frowned as she partially tucked one leg under herself, getting comfortable, "I'm good. Why?"

"We all heard it." Herrmann said, "You got a pretty good rakin'."

She shrugged, "It's my fault. I stepped out of line. Kelly's still my Lieutenant; he didn't have a choice. It's just business, nothing personal."

"Taylor, I'm sorry." Casey looked miserable, "I got that mess started. You shouldn't have gotten chewed out like that." As if it wasn't bad enough that _everyone_ now knew about the breakup, he'd gotten Taylor in trouble, too!

Taylor waved a hand dismissively, "It's fine. Really. I lost my cool and got put back in line. Simple as that." She picked up a magazine from the coffee table and began leafing through it.

Somewhere down the hallway, a door slammed. Mills returned to the break room, worry written across his face. They could all hear Severide yelling at Dawson, telling her to control herself and get her head straight.

"Hey, Taylor…you ever, uh, think about takin' some anger management classes?" Herrmann asked cautiously.

Taylor looked at him as if he'd just asked her if she'd ever done drugs, "No. Why?"

He shrugged, "Just a thought."

An uneasy silence settled. Cruz scrolled through the TV channels, looking for a something – anything – to watch. Otis fiddled with his phone, texting Katie no doubt. Casey stared at Taylor for a long time before finally standing and leaving the room. Capp, Newhouse, and Tony tried to look focused on their card game. Herrmann read the newspaper. Mouch buried his nose in a book. Mills stared at the door, waiting for Dawson. Brett alternated her attention between the TV, Cruz, and Mills.

The same door slammed again.

About thirty minutes into the awkward and heavy silence, Taylor's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and was surprised to see Severide's name on the screen. Curious, she opened the message.

_I'm sorry._

She sighed, and texted him back, _Don't be. I put you in that spot. I lost my cool and got out of line. You're just doing your job. I'm sorry for putting you in that position._

_I feel horrible. I yelled at you._

_I yelled back. It's fine, baby. Really. You had to. I'm sorry for acting like a fool.  
><em>  
>A moment later, Severide walked into the break room, weary and looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He sat down heavily beside Taylor on the couch, leaning his head back against the cushion and closing his eyes.<p>

Everyone looked up, wondering what was going to happen.

Taylor placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

Without opening his eyes, Severide put one arm around her and pulled her tightly into his side, sighing deeply. Relief washed over him; all was forgiven.

"Where's Dawson?" Brett finally asked.

"I don't know." Severide answered flatly, "You might check the showers." He could feel a headache coming on.

Quickly, Mills left the room.

"Here we go again." Herrmann muttered, turning a page of his newspaper.

Taylor snuggled into Severide and draped her arm across his lap. She was glad Chief Boden was off today. Both she and Dawson would've been in a hundred times more trouble if he had been there.

Severide kissed her forehead as he wrapped his other arm around her. He hated yelling at people, especially people he cared about.

"So…" Otis started slowly, "What's for lunch?"

Mercifully, the tones dropped before anyone could answer, sending the entire house scrambling.

…

Eight runs later, Taylor, Brett, and Katie were hurrying around the kitchen, trying to get at least one meal prepared. It was late into the evening now, and everyone was starving. As usual, Taylor was singing as she worked:

"Over Talladega,  
>Boys raised up,<br>Whiskey in your glass  
>Here's to turnin' up,<br>Slowin' down  
>And cars that go real fast.<p>

We were laughin' and livin',  
>Drinkin' and wishin',<br>And thinkin' as that checkered flag was wavin',  
>Sure would like to stay in<br>Talladega."

"Does that ever get on your nerves?" Capp asked Severide, inclining his head toward Taylor. For the moment, Squad and most of Truck were playing poker.

Severide glanced up briefly from his hand of cards, "Nah. She sings when she's happy."

"How's the wedding planning going, by the way?" Mouch inquired.

Severide shrugged, "I'm letting her do most of it. She's been looking at this one website with Katie and Brett. I think it's called _Pinterest_?"

"Oh, dude." Cruz looked up from his hand, "_Pinterest_ is crack for girls."

"Hey!" Otis elbowed his friend, "I like _Pinterest_."

Cruz elbowed him back, "Case in point. Don't leave them alone on that thing, man – you'll end up with a million-dollar wedding."

Severide shook his head, "No, we have a budget. And, if Shelby shops for wedding stuff like she shops for groceries, we'll be fine."

"Don't cheap out, either." Herrmann warned, "You two deserve a nice wedding."

Newhouse chuckled, "She's not one of those crazy coupon ladies, is she?"

"No." Severide smiled, looking up, "She's just good at saving money."

"She's a crazy coupon lady." Otis said, "I've seen her with the Sunday paper."

Taylor smacked the back of Otis' head.

"Ow!" he whined, rubbing the spot she had hit, "I said it with love!"

"Uh-huh." Taylor grinned, "Supper's ready, y'all."

…

Three runs later, Severide awoke, painfully stiff. He was on the couch with Taylor tucked snugly under his arm. She was totally out, her breath leaving little warm spots on his shirt. The firehouse was quiet. Darkness had enveloped the city.

Casey sat in the recliner, watching a rerun of _House_. "Hey." he said quietly.

"Hey." Severide shifted a little, trying to alleviate the pain in his back without waking Taylor.

"Please don't be mad at Taylor. That whole mess was my fault."

He shrugged, "I'm not mad at anyone. An issue arose and I dealt with it. Simple as that."

Casey sighed, "I'm sorry you had to deal with it. Dawson is my responsibility. I should've disciplined her."

"That probably wouldn't have gone over well."

"Yeah."

"Don't worry about it, okay?" Severide carefully slid out from under Taylor and stretched, popping his entire spine and both shoulders in the process.

Casey made a grossed out face, "That sounded awesome."

Severide half chuckled, "Yeah." He indicated the TV, "Didn't know you liked _House_."

Casey felt a little heat rise to his face, "Yeah. I guess it's one of those guilty pleasure things."

Severide grinned, "Shelby loves it. I'm pretty sure she's seen every episode at least four times."

He smiled as he looked at Taylor, "How's it feel to be caught?"

Severide's smile softened as he looked down at his sleeping fiancé, "It's the best thing ever, man."

"Have you two set a date yet?"

"We've settled on September, but not a day yet." Carefully, he picked Taylor up. She roused up a little and mumbled something unintelligible, but didn't fully awaken.

Casey was surprised, "_This_ September?"

"Yeah."

"That's two and a half months away!"

"As Shelby says, best make hay while the sun's shining. The girls are on it. I need a best man if you're interested."

Casey smiled, "You know I'm in."

…

Severide awoke to Taylor's hand drifting softly across his chest. He kept his eyes closed, enjoying the sensation. Fearing discovery as always, he had placed her nearest to the wall and slept on his side all night, effectively hiding her. Not that anyone could see through the blinds, or unlock the door, but still...

Taylor trailed soft kisses up his neck and across his jaw until she reached his lips, smiling to herself as he moaned a little and tightened his arms around her. "Hey, baby."

He smiled as he opened his eyes, "Hey. Did you sleep well?"

"Mm-hmm. Did you?"

"Yeah."

Gently, she stroked his cheek, "Stop it."

He frowned a little, "Stop what?"

"Worrying about yesterday. It's fine, okay? Water under the bridge."

She knew him well. "I yelled at you."

"Kelly, you're my Lieutenant. When I screw up, I expect you to correct me. I screwed up yesterday, and you corrected me. It's not a big deal." She pushed him gently onto his back as she kissed along his collarbone, catching a whiff of his cologne along the V of his eternally-open polo shirt.

Severide barely stifled a shiver. Her hands went to work untucking his shirt. His heart began to pound as he felt his belt loosen. "What're you doing, baby?"

"You." She made quick work of his button and zipper, smiling to herself when he raised his hips enough for her to tug his pants out of her way.

"Shelby…" he groaned as her hands crept through the opening of his boxers and found his erection.

"Hmmm?" Carefully, she freed him from his fabric prison.

His heart stopped when her lips closed around him. Her tongue began to move, making him whimper and grip the mattress. This felt amazing. "Baby…" He opened his eyes and watched her, becoming more and more turned-on as she bobbed slowly up and down. This felt so incredibly, intensely, amazingly good. It was almost as good as being inside her.

Taylor grinned when his hands threaded through her hair. She could hear him panting as he moaned softly and begged her not to stop. Knowing that she could make him beg and moan was incredibly arousing.

"Take your pants off."

Not needing to be told twice, she began tugging at her belt.

She wasn't moving fast enough. In a blur of movement, Severide had her on her back and was tearing at her pants, yanking them off and tossing them over his shoulder. He shucked off his pants and boxers, stripped off her panties, and covered her mouth with one hand as he slammed his aching cock as deep as he could into her.

Taylor cried out against his palm as he rammed himself into her. The suddenness hurt, but it was quickly replaced with exquisite pleasure.

They _had_ to keep quiet. Just the fact that they had spent the night together would get them into a world of trouble. Getting caught having sex? That would get them fired.

She arched beneath him as her orgasm struck, digging her fingers into his back. Feeling her shuddering beneath him triggered his own release. He buried himself in her trembling warmth and came.

Panting once his hand left her mouth, Taylor reached up and drew Severide into a soft kiss. "Not bad for our first time at work." she smiled.

…

Author's Note: I don't own the piece of a song that I used. Eric Church does, and it's called "Talladega". If you'd like to hear it in its entirety, it's on YouTube. Thanks to RBCFCPD7410, Sarrabr4, TheIrishShipperholic, 2NYwLove, and HermioneandMarcus for the reviews! Thanks to Caecie and TalonNight for the follows and favorites! And thanks as always to my readers!


	25. Chapter 25

Katie had brought Enzo with her that morning as she came to meet Otis. The old dog's tail swished slowly from side to side as he walked beside Taylor. He was happy with his new life and his new family. Mostly, though, he was happy to be back with Taylor.

"I'm gonna help Matt fix that hole in his wall today." Severide was saying as he walked hand-in-hand with Taylor to the parking lot.

"Okay. I might take Enzo for a long walk, then." Taylor replied.

Suddenly, Enzo stopped in his tracks, bristled, and let out a bone-chilling growl.

Taylor and Severide froze as they looked to see what the dog was growling at. Instinctively, Severide pulled Taylor behind him; he did _not_ like what he saw.

Hank Voight leaned casually against a patrol car, Erin Lindsay at his side.

"Who's K-9 unit?" Voight asked, sauntering over to the firefighters.

"He's mine." Taylor answered, moving out from behind Severide.

Voight eyed her, "You a cop?"

"No. My first husband was a sheriff's deputy." She didn't want to silence Enzo just yet. This guy must be Detective Voight. She'd heard a lot about him, and none of it was good.

Voight chuckled, picking up on the accent that Taylor was covering, "So, what, you got the dog in the divorce?"

It took everything Taylor had to keep from breaking his jaw. _Disrespectful bastard._ she thought. She kept her voice even, but let plenty of anger seep into her words, "My husband was killed in the line of duty. I received his K-9 unit when the department officially retired him." She did _not_ like this dude.

Voight's eyebrows raised briefly in surprise. He cleared his throat, "Please excuse me. I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." Now she could silence the dog, "Enzo. Chill."

Enzo hushed, but continued to bristle. He didn't know who these people were, but he didn't like the man one bit. Protectively, he moved to sit beside Taylor's leg.

"Why are you here?" Severide asked.

"We've received word of a potential…situation." Voight answered, "Apparently, your friend, Mr. Accardo, 'donated' money without the approval of his, shall we say, business partners. His partners aren't too happy about it."

"What's that have to do with us?"

The detective looked at Taylor as he spoke, "Rumor has it that your friend here-"

Immediately, and without thinking, Severide corrected him, "Fiancé."

Lindsay's eyes flashed with surprise, but she kept her composure. Taylor saw it, though, and tightened her grip on Severide's hand. Hadn't he said something about dating a cop once? This must be her.

"Is that so?" Voight smiled, "Congratulations. Your _fiancé_ now has a target on her back."

Taylor frowned, "Why?" She hadn't done anything to aggravate the mob. Not that she knew of, anyway.

"You're the one who saved his kid from that fire. You put a kink in someone's plans."

She nodded, "I see." So that fire _had_ been a mob hit. Herrmann was right. Fantastic.

"We're offering you protection." Lindsay spoke up. She looked at Severide, "All of you."

Taylor barked a laugh, "I think I'm good. Thanks, though." She started to walk away, but Severide stopped her. He wasn't about to turn his back on the man in front of them.

"You should consider it." Voight said.

She snorted and let her accent slip, "Please. My first husband was a cop. My daddy is a Marine. I'm from the South. If you think I cain't roll somebody, you are _sadly_ mistaken." She didn't trust this Voight guy as far as she could throw him. She'd heard enough about him to know to steer as clear of him as humanly possible. Why, for all she knew, _he_ could be working with the mob! He could be setting them up to get killed!

"You have no idea what you're dealing with."

"Yeah I do; a buncha antiquated gangsters who think they're still relevant." She tugged at Severide's hand, "I appreciate the offer, but I think you need to focus your resources elsewhere. Have a good day."

As he allowed Taylor to lead him away, Severide's eyes met Lindsay's. He gave her a small smile. She returned it, but hers looked a little sad.

…

_She felt funny. Not like she was coming down with something, but like something was…off. The feeling had come to her a little over an hour ago. It had made her start thinking back over her day. Had she turned all of the lights off before she left the house that morning? She thought so. Had she filled out that report correctly? Who knew – the rules were always changing. She began examining the rescue truck. Had she forgotten something there? The feeling was maddening._

_She was so absorbed in trying to figure out what could've caused the feeling that she didn't notice the three sets of footsteps that were approaching her from behind._

"_Shelby?"_

_She froze, recognizing the voice. It was the chaplain. Suddenly, her heart began to pound. Why was he here? She began to tremble as she caught a whiff of familiar cologne. Sam. The sheriff and chaplain in one place? Nausea hit her square in the gut. Slowly, she turned around to face her chief, the chaplain, and the sheriff._

_Sam's eyes were red. He'd been crying._

_A horrible, sinking feeling overtook Taylor. She leaned back into the rescue truck to keep from collapsing – she knew why they were there._

_No. This wasn't happening. This wasn't real!_

"_Shelby, can you come to my office?" her chief asked._

_She didn't hear him. She was focused on Sam and the chaplain. "Why are you here?" she asked, her voice shaking. Her whole body began to shake now as her heart thundered within her chest._

_He tried again, "Shelby-"_

"_Why are you here?!"_

_The entire bay was dead silent. Her words literally echoed._

_Sam cleared his throat, but the words that he'd been mentally practicing for an hour now came out broken and full of grief. "Shelby Taylor, on behalf of the Dawson County Sheriff's Department…I regret to…" Tears began to drip down his cheeks, "To inform you that your husband…Jason Taylor…has been killed in the line of duty."_

_No. No! This couldn't be! Not Jason! No!_

_She sank to the concrete floor as hot tears began to stream down her face. This wasn't happening. This wasn't real!_

_Arms began to wrap around her from all directions as her comrades came to comfort her. Her life flashed before her eyes. Meeting Jason in high school, joining the fire department on her eighteenth birthday, getting married a week after that, their honeymoon, Jason becoming a deputy, birthday parties, family events, their first vacation, getting Enzo, the birth of Luke's daughter Ivy, the miscarriage that had cost her the ability to have children, buying their first house, kissing Jason goodbye that morning…_

_She screamed._

_This was a nightmare! This wasn't real – this wasn't happening!_

"_I'm so sorry." Sam sniffled, kneeling beside her and adding his arms to the protective circle of firefighters._

_Taylor wailed. Her entire world shattered into a million pieces as half of her soul was ripped away._

"Shelby, _**wake up!**_"

Still wailing, Taylor shot upright in their bed.

Immediately, Severide wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to him. She'd had nightmares before, but never like this one. "It's alright, baby, I'm here." he soothed, stroking her hair, "Shhh. You're safe. I'm here."

Outside their bedroom door, Enzo was absolutely losing his mind. He barked frantically and scratched at the door. Something was wrong with Taylor and he was going to get to her if he had to rip the door from its hinges.

The door opened, and Katie leaned into the bedroom, thoroughly frightened at the sudden screams. Enzo blew past her and jumped up onto the bed, laying his head on Taylor's feet and whining.

Severide barely noticed them. He needed to get Taylor calmed down before she hyperventilated. He'd never seen her like this before. It was terrifying. "Calm down, baby, please. You're gonna hyperventilate if you don't." What in the world could've triggered this? And then, it hit him.

The image of Jason's tombstone flashed in his memory. Today. It was today. Eleven years ago _today_. And he had totally forgotten. Of all the days to leave her home alone, he'd picked this one.

He tightened his arms around her, "Baby, I'm _so_ sorry. I _completely_ forgot what day it was."

"It's okay." she managed, forcing herself to breathe more slowly.

"No, it's not. Of all the days to be gone, I picked the worst possible one."

Carefully, Katie slipped into the bedroom, motioning for Otis and Casey to follow her. She climbed onto Taylor's side of the bed and wrapped her arms around her soon-to-be-sister-in-law and her brother.

Otis sat down beside Katie and took Taylor's hand. He didn't know what exactly was going on, but Taylor was deeply distraught, and he felt the need to comfort her. Taylor squeezed his hand, and he felt her tremble.

Casey say down beside Severide and, following Otis' lead, took Taylor's other hand. He'd seen Taylor upset before – she'd been pretty torn up last year when Severide had been hurt – but, never like this. It was more than a little scary.

"I'm sorry." Taylor croaked, "It's not usually this bad."

"It's okay, baby." Severide whispered, kissing her forehead.

"I guess that crap that Voight said earlier got me thinking about it." She sat up slowly and wiped her face, embarrassed that she'd woken everyone, and embarrassed that anyone other than Severide had seen her in a mess like this. At least she wasn't naked. She felt the need to explain herself, "I'm sorry, you guys. Jason was killed eleven years ago today, and for some reason it's really gotten to me."

Katie hugged her, "Are you okay?"

Taylor sniffled, "Yeah. Y'all go back to bed."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Slowly, Katie pulled away and got up. Otis got up as well and gave Taylor a quick hug before following Katie back to their bedroom.

Casey stood and hugged Taylor tightly, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm good. Thanks, Matt."

He nodded and headed for the door, pulling it closed behind himself.

Enzo shifted off of Taylor's feet and settled against the footboard. He knew he wasn't allowed on the bed, but he felt like this time could be an exception.

"I'm really sorry." Severide gently brushed her hair back behind her ears, "I can't believe I forgot."

"It's fine, sweetheart, really." She leaned into him, "It's not usually this bad."

Carefully, he eased both of them back down, pulling the covers up around her shoulders. "I feel like an ass."

"Why?" She snuggled into him, resting her cheek against his chest.

"Because I shouldn't have left you alone today."

"Please don't worry about it." She raised up and kissed him softly, "Let's just go back to sleep, okay?"

He hugged her, "Okay."

"I'm sorry I woke you up."

"How many times have I woken you up?" Softly, he kissed the top of her head, "It's just something we have to deal with. It's part of who we are now. But, we'll deal with it just like we always have, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you, baby girl."

"Love you, too." She closed her eyes and let the steady beat of his heart lull her back to sleep.

…

Author's Note: Thanks to RBCFCPD7410, HermioneandMarcus, Sarrabr4, TheIrishShipperholic, and 2NYwLove for the reviews! Thanks to Anne1986, AppoloniaAstria, and Mrs. Smolderhalder for the follows! And, as always, thanks to my readers!


	26. Chapter 26

Severide awoke facedown under a pile of debris. His ears were ringing. Distantly, he could hear the squeals of PASS alarms. His entire body hurt. Crying out with the effort, he managed to get up onto his knees and shove the mess of wood, drywall, and old wallpaper off of his back. The movement made the room spin. He stayed on his hands and knees for several minutes, reeling from the pain. Breathing was extremely difficult. As the ringing diminished slightly, he could hear the mayday calls going up.

"We got a man down over here!" Herrmann shouted from what sounded like the next floor down. "Otis is hurt!"

"Truck Eighty-one, head count!" Casey yelled over the radio.

One by one, the remainder of Truck responded. They were hurt, but alive.

Severide keyed up his radio, and through gritted teeth, managed to say "Squad Three...head count!" The longer he was conscious, the more he hurt. He needed to move, but he honestly wasn't sure he could. Every breath was a sharp stab of pain. Broken ribs were a very real possibility. His shoulder felt like it was on fire. He hoped he hadn't reinjured it badly enough to require another surgery. His PASS alarm began to chirp, so he had to wiggle in order to silence it. The room spun once again, almost making him sick.

Newhouse, Tony, and Capp responded. They were also hurt, but alive nonetheless.

He keyed up again, "Taylor, report."

No response.

A horrible, sinking feeling began to form within him. "Taylor...report."

Still no response.

Pushing through the pain, Severide hauled himself to his feet and staggered toward the wall that he had been blown through. "Taylor! Report!" Panic gripped him when she still didn't respond, "Shelby!" He passed by the gigantic hole that had been blown into the middle of the old office building. The blast had sent him through a wall and opened the floor beneath Otis. Below, the injured members of Squad and Truck worked to free Otis from a debris pile.

It had to have been a bomb; the force of the blast had been too great for it _not_ to have been a bomb. And what were the odds of a random bomb being placed in an old office building that hadn't been used in years and had magically caught fire less than an hour ago? It had been a trap.

"Sev!" Casey shouted, "I found her!"

As quickly as he could, Severide made his way to Casey, whose left arm hung uselessly by his side.

Struggling beneath the awkward weight, Casey was holding up a huge piece of debris with his good hand, allowing Dawson to crawl out from beneath Taylor's crumpled form. "I can't hold this much longer, Dawson – get her out!"

Scrambling on her hands and knees, Dawson spun around and grabbed Taylor's ankles, pulling her out of the way enough for Casey to drop the debris chunk. "That was so _stupid_, Taylor – _why_ did you do that?!" Dawson muttered as she removed Taylor's helmet, mask, and hood, "Taylor! Can you hear me?"

Blood trickled from Taylor's nose. Severide's heart sank as he dropped to his knees and touched her shoulder, "Shelby, can you hear me?"

Taylor groaned weakly, "Kelly..."

"I'm here, baby girl." His own pain completely forgotten, Severide scooped her up, started for the door, and hit his radio, "Everybody out! Now!"

Taylor's head fell against his shoulder, "I'm hurt, baby."

"I know. We're on our way out, okay? Brett and Mills are waiting for us." He felt her go limp, "Shelby?"

She had lost consciousness.

…

Author's Note: Short chapter, I know. Wrote this on lunch at work today and couldn't wait to get it posted. Thanks to RBCFCPD7410, TheIrishShipperholic, Sarrabr4, and HermioneandMarcus for the reviews!


	27. Chapter 27

The stench of bleach and hand sanitizer assaulted her nostrils. Only one place stunk like that; Chicago Med. Could be worse - she could've been smelling dirt and the inside of a coffin. A quick twitch test told her that she still had both arms, both legs, and all of her fingers and toes. That was good. She ached. In a way, that was good, too - it meant no nerve damage. She could feel the pull of stitches on her left side. Fantastic. Wonder what was messed up there? A heart monitor beeped softly behind her. She could feel the sticky pads on her chest and the little clamp on her finger. _At least you didn't wake up dead._

Where was Severide? Fear gripped her as she realized that he wasn't holding her hand or running his fingers through her hair or...anything. Had he been hurt? Was he in surgery? Was he...?

No, she wasn't going to think like that. Thinking like that would send her into a panic. She couldn't panic. Not yet. She forced her eyes to open and focus.

Severide was stretched out in a recliner beside her bed, sound asleep. He wore a hospital gown over his duty pants. His right arm rested in a sling. She could tell by the expression on his face that he was in pain.

Relieved, she breathed a sigh. He was safe.

The door to her room clicked open, catching her attention.

Casey stuck his head in, smiling when he saw she was awake. Seeing that Severide was asleep, he entered quietly and hurried to Taylor's bedside. Minding his broken arm, he gave her a tight hug before quickly kissing her forehead. "You scared the hell outta me." he whispered, carefully releasing her.

Taylor grinned up at him, "I dunno – you look like you still got some hell left in ya."

He chuckled, "How do you feel?"

"Like I got hit by a train." She shifted a little, trying not to aggravate her stitches, "What's the damage report?"

"Not good." He sighed, "Both Truck _and_ Squad are completely out. Herrmann broke a leg, Mouch dislocated a knee, Cruz cracked his collarbone in two places, Capp's back is messed up, Newhouse tore something in his shoulder, Tony broke an arm, Sev's air pack messed his ribs up and he reinjured that bad shoulder, and my arm is broken in three places."

"Damn."

"Yeah. Dawson fared better than anyone." He gave her a knowing look, "She said you grabbed her about the time the blast detonated and shielded her. That's why you were hurt so badly. All Dawson had was a sprained wrist from you collapsing on her."

Taylor smiled innocently, "So, that's who I grabbed."

"You saved her life."

"What's my damage?"

"Internal injuries. Bruising mostly. One of your lungs collapsed and they had to re-inflate it."

She could tell that he was holding something back. He had a look about him that told her he was trying to shield her from something. "You missed one. …What about Otis?"

Casey sighed heavily, "I'm not sure. …He's still in surgery. It's…not looking too good."

Taylor closed her eyes and leaned her head back into her pillow, "This is all my fault."

"No, it's not."

"It is, Matt. I'm the one they're after. All because I saved that stupid kid."

"You don't know that."

"Voight said they were."

"I wouldn't believe a word that man says." He brushed a stray hair away from her face, "Right now, all you need to worry about is getting better."

Taylor smiled in spite of her worry, "So do you."

"I'll be okay."

"Has Kelly said anything to you about moving in?"

"Yeah." Casey shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "I don't want to be in the way."

"You won't be. We've been talking about getting a bigger place."

That got his attention, "Oh?"

"We haven't said anything to Otis and Katie yet, but we've been talking about renting a house. It'd probably be cheaper, and everyone would have their own space. We'd split everything four ways until Katie got a job; then it'd be five ways. Should be pretty affordable. Plus, there'd be more room in case…y'know…_kids_ happen."

Casey couldn't help but laugh at the way she said 'kids' – like she was talking about roaches or mice. "I'll think about it."

Taylor smiled, but became serious, "You're family, Matt. You're always welcome at our place. You know that, right?"

He nodded, feeling suddenly emotional, "I know. …Look, I'm gonna go check on some of the others, okay?"

"I mean it."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead again, giving himself a moment to collect. "Thanks, Shelby. I'll be back around in a little while."

"Okay." She watched him leave, hoping that he would agree to move in with them. He'd spent the night on their couch every night since the breakup; he might as well move in.

Severide grunted when the door closed, rousing slightly.

"Kelly." Taylor quietly said.

His eyes snapped open and he looked up at her. Relief washed over him and he smiled, "Hey, beautiful."

She returned the smile, "Hey, handsome. You okay?"

"I've been better." he admitted, carefully sitting up, then slowly standing. It hurt. A lot. But he wasn't about to let her see that. Bending slowly, he kissed her, "How do you feel?"

"Like crap on a cracker. But I reckon I'll live." She leaned into his hand as he cupped her cheek, "You just missed Matt."

"Any word on Otis?"

"He's still in surgery. …Matt said it wasn't lookin' too good."

Severide nodded, biting his lip a little. They couldn't lose another one. Especially not Otis.

"This is all my fault."

He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was getting upset. "No, it's not."

"It is, too. You heard what Voight said. I'm putting the whole house in danger."

"Stop thinking like that. Voight is a liar. You can't believe anything he says."

"Then why is there a cop outside my door?"

Confused, he frowned, "What?"

She nodded toward the door, "See for yourself."

Curious, Severide went to the door and cracked it open. Sure enough, a uniformed police officer was standing outside. He gave the young cop a courtesy nod before closing the door and turning to face Taylor, "How did you know he was out there?"

"I saw him when Matt left. Why would there be a cop posted outside if there wasn't any suspicion of danger?"

…

_"Almighty Father, we come to you this evening with a great need before us. We lift our wounded brother up to You in the hope that You would place Your healing Hand upon him, Lord. The doctors here have done the best they can, but we know that You can do so much more. ...We know that You know what's best, Lord, but..." - her voice cracked just a little bit - "we're begging You...please don't take him from us just yet. In Your Son's precious Name we pray...amen."_

He hurt. A lot. All over, from head to toe. He'd never hurt like this before, and he hoped he never would again. But...he was alive. Better alive and hurting than dead and, well...not.

A quick self-assessment revealed that most of his body was either covered with a bandage or a cast. Cool oxygen flowed into his nose, making his throat dry and scratchy. He could hear the various beeps of monitors and IV pumps and...snoring? Yep, somebody was snoring softly.

With a whole lot more effort than he ever dreamt was necessary, Otis opened his eyes. What he saw almost made him tear up.

His room was packed with the sleeping members of Firehouse 51. They were battered, bruised, and broken, but alive. Extra chairs and cots had been brought in to accommodate all of them. How that many people were allowed to be in one room, he didn't know. He didn't care about the rules right now, though; the show of support meant the world to him.

To his right, Severide sat in the middle of a cot, leaned back against the wall, asleep. Katie and Taylor were curled up on either side of him, using his thighs as pillows. Enzo was curled up on the floor beneath the cot. Casey sat in a chair at Taylor's feet, Newhouse was stretched out on a cot in front of him, Chief Boden sat between Casey and Capp, Herrmann and Mouch sat on opposite ends of a cot sleeping slumped against the wall, Tony sat between Capp and Mills, who was lying on a cot with one arm around Dawson, and Cruz sat on his left side, arms wrapped around Brett, who was curled up in a chair beside him.

Otis smiled. It hurt, but it was worth it. He was alive, and his family was alive, and that was all that mattered.

Katie shifted, grabbing his attention. She opened her eyes a little, checking to see if Otis was awake. He was.

Otis smiled, "Hey, baby."

"Otis." she breathed, quickly getting up and rushing to his bedside. "You're okay." she whispered, hugging him carefully.

Unable to move his arms, he leaned his head against hers. He felt a couple of her tears drip onto his neck. The sensation combined with the sudden reality of just how close he had come to being killed made his own eyes fill with tears. "Don't cry, sweetheart. I'm okay. Everything's gonna be fine now."

…

Author's Note: Thanks to Sarrabr4, HermioneandMarcus, RBCFCPD7410, and TheIrishShipperholic for the reviews! Thanks to ladyby16, Jaynekochan, and lexlopez for the follows! Thanks also to my readers! Get ready for a brief CF/CPD crossover!


	28. Chapter 28

Lindsay jumped when someone tapped on the passenger side window. She was drawing her gun when she realized that it was Severide who had startled her. Exhaling loudly, she rolled the window down, "I almost shot you!"

"Sorry." He squatted down slowly beside the car, minding his still-healing ribs, "You hungry?"

"I'm fine." She folded her arms across her chest, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

"You have to be hungry. You've been down here for hours."

"I'm fine."

He shifted a little, trying to get comfortable, "Shelby sent me down here. She's worried about you. ...And so am I."

Lindsay snorted, "Why?"

He gestured to the empty street, "Because you're down here by yourself."

"I'm a cop. I can take care of myself." She looked away from him, focusing on a point somewhere past the third lamp post up from her car. For some reason, he was just simply rubbing her the wrong way tonight.

"Please, Erin."

Irritated by his persistence, she snapped at him, "I'm your _ex_, Kelly. Why in the _world_ does your fiancé want your _ex_ to eat with you?"

His response was a little angry, "We're being targeted by the _mafia_ – she's worried about you._ I'm _worried about you. And, I dunno, we thought that maybe you'd like something to eat and some company for a minute!"

Anger flared within Lindsay, "What is _with_ her? Is she some kinda saint? _Saint_ Shelby? _Mother_ Taylor? Why is she so damn nice to everyone?"

"She's a good person, Erin. She was raised to be good and kind and to care about people and to want to help. That's just how she is. ...She knows about us. But she also knows that you were assigned to watch out for us, and I guess she's trying to extend the olive branch."

Lindsay huffed and looked away again.

"You're mad at me."

"I am not."

"You are."

"I am not!"

Severide sighed, "Erin, I did you wrong. _Really_ wrong. I was in an _extremely_ bad place, and I had no right to drag you down with me. I will forever be sorry for that. But...I'm better. A lot better. And I'm happy with where I am right now. I'm happy with _who_ I am right now. I'm happy with where I'm going. ...And I'm really happy with the woman who's chosen to walk beside me. I'd appreciate it if you would be happy for me, too."

She didn't respond.

"I know about you and Halstead. He's a good guy."

Still no response.

"Please come up. If I come back empty-handed, Shelby will come down here herself."

Lindsay was silent for a long time. She was mad at Severide. Why, she didn't know. And she was mad at Taylor for being so damn nice to her. But...she was hungry...and she needed to pee.

With an exasperated sigh, she opened her car door.

The walk up to the apartment was quiet. However, the apartment was not.

Lindsay could hear laughing coming from the kitchen as Severide opened the door. Not casual laughter - loud, hearty, firefighter laughter. Casey was telling some kind of a tale and he had his audience thoroughly tickled. They were still bandaged and bruised, but it was obvious that their sense of humor hadn't been damaged. She was met with smiles.

"Grab a plate." Taylor grinned, having to hold her injured side from laughing so hard, "We're havin' the Domino's special tonight."

So _that's_ where the pizza boy had been going. Poor kid - she'd scared him half to death when she'd searched him before allowing him into the building. She smiled, "Thanks." Quickly, she filled her plate and grabbed an empty folding chair.

"Okay, Lindsay, it's your turn now." Casey said, barely giving her time to sit down, "What's your craziest run?"

Taken aback by the unusual request, Lindsay had to think for a moment, "Oh, where do I start?"

Otis chuckled, "We're not goin' anywhere – pick one."

…

Otis lay awake, staring at the ceiling, thinking, pondering his own mortality. Katie slept soundly at his side, her hand resting on his chest. He'd much rather have her head on his chest, but until he was totally healed, it was better to be safe than sorry. Pressing her hand into his heartbeat, he hugged her as tightly as he could. A few spots here and there still hurt from where Taylor had changed his bandages. She'd tried to be gentle, but bandage adhesive and medical tape just simply hurt when they were removed. But...before that, Katie had helped him take a bath. ...That had been fun. He smiled at the memory. They should bathe together more often.

He needed to talk to Severide. He dreaded that. A lot. For his own safety, he hoped that Taylor was nearby when this conversation happened. But, he knew he should talk to Katie's brother one-on-one. He wanted to do this right, and Severide was the closest thing to a father that she had.

Nearly dying had made him think long and hard about some things. He knew what he wanted now. He just wasn't sure how well it would go over. It was looking more and more like Cruz was going to move in with Brett (he was staying with her until he was healed anyway), which meant that he and Katie would have the whole place to themselves...

He could hear Taylor turning the lights off and checking the lock on the door. Knowing that they were all targets now was terrifying. But, he'd come to know Taylor quite well as of late, and he knew that she _always_ had at least one gun within grabbing distance. This apartment was probably the safest place he could be right now.

Katie sighed and shifted against him, redirecting his attention to the matter at hand.

He loved this woman. More than anything, and with an intensity that surprised him. Otis sighed.

He needed to talk to Severide.

…

From the edge of the bed, Severide watched Taylor through their bedroom door as she turned off lights around the apartment. He wanted her in the worst possible way, but he didn't dare try anything until both of them had sufficiently healed. She'd been favoring her side today. It worried him.

Taylor smiled at him as she shut the bedroom door and strolled over to the bed, "You're thinkin' about somethin' awfully hard."

He draped his arms around her waist, pulled her close, and leaned into the warmth of her body, "Do you know you'll be changing your last name in exactly one month?"

"I know." She smiled and kissed the top of his head before combing her fingers through his hair, "I can't wait."

"Me, too." He took a breath, "Have you changed your bandage yet?"

"No. I was gonna let it get some air tonight."

He pulled away and looked up at her, "Can I see it?"

For a moment, Taylor hesitated. She should've known he'd be watching her. "Okay." Slowly, she lifted her shirt, revealing the bandage on her side.

Carefully, Severide loosened the tape, frowning as he removed it and the gauze that covered her incision. The skin around her stitches was an angry red. "Baby, how long has it been like this?"

She shrugged uncomfortably, "I dunno. Couple'a days?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was going to…"

An image of Shay looking up at him from a hospital bed flashed before Severide's eyes. He shook his head, clearing it away. "You can't be setting up an infection a month before our wedding." He gave her a soft kiss, "I plan on _thoroughly_ enjoying you while we're on our honeymoon, so you need to be back to one hundred percent. Okay?"

She chuckled and kissed him again, "Okay."

…

Author's Note: Thanks to HermioneandMarcus, TheIrishShipperholic, RBCFCPD7410, Sarrabr4, and 2NYwLove for the reviews! Thanks to PaulWalkerFan921, franci92, and Em-x. everlasting for the follows and favorites! As always, thanks to my readers!


	29. Chapter 29

"Um...Severide? Can I...talk to you?"

Severide didn't look up from the car magazine that he was reading, "I guess." He didn't like the nervous tone of the other firefighter's voice.

Otis sat down in the recliner across from him, a bundle of nerves, heart racing, sweat threatening to bead on his forehead. This was worse than asking if he could take Katie on a date. Much worse. "So...uh...I've been doing a lot of thinking...and..." Trying to steady himself, he took a deep breath, "I want to do this right. I want to be a gentleman about this. So...I was wondering...if..." – the fact that Severide still hadn't looked up was _really_ nerve-wracking – "I could...possibly...have your blessing. I'd like to ask Katie to marry me."

The silence that settled in the living room was suffocating. Severide had stopped reading and was staring at a page in his magazine, stone still. Otis wished desperately that he would say something – anything! Even if it was angry!

Severide took a slow breath as he finally looked up. When he spoke, his voice wavered, "Otis...do you have any idea what you're asking of me?"

Otis had prepared himself for an argument. He had prepared himself for a yelling match. He had prepared himself for Severide storm out of the room. Hell, he had even prepared himself for a fistfight! He'd spent hours practicing what he was going to say, preparing himself for this moment. He had _not_, however, prepared himself for the look on Severide's face. It was a mixture of concern, defeat, and...sadness? His speech totally forgotten, Otis spoke from the heart, "I'm gonna take care of her. _Good _care of her. If that means I have to work four jobs, then so be it. If it means that I have to scrub the toilets at Fifty-one three times a day every day for the rest of my life, I'll do it. I love Katie. I've never been able to honestly say that about someone before. I love her more than anything, and I want to be with her for the rest of my life. I want to make her happy. I want us to have a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence around it. I want to start a family with her."

Severide bit the inside of his bottom lip, trying to understand the storm of mixed emotions that was raging inside him. He was scared, honestly. This was his baby sister they were talking about! Marriage was a big deal. It wasn't like she was seventeen and Otis was asking, but still... This meant big changes not just for Otis and Katie, but for everyone. This meant that their little mismatched family would be separated when Otis and Katie got their own place, which was inevitable. He didn't like that. He'd gotten used to having three other people living with he and Shelby, and he honestly liked it. It was a stability that he'd never had growing up. He wanted Katie to be happy, though, and Otis made her happy. Happier than he'd ever seen her. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Severide knew it was true. He also knew that whether he approved of it or not, this was really happening. Even if he said no, Katie would do it anyway. "When are you planning on asking her?"

Well, he definitely hadn't been expecting _that_. Otis scrambled for words, "Well, um...I have to get a ring first."

Severide nodded, "Find her a good one. ...I'll help you pay for it."

Floored, Otis' jaw dropped, "Really?"

"She's my baby sister, Otis. I want the best for her."

He held his hand out to his now future brother-in-law, "I'll give her the best. You have my word."

Severide shook his hand, "You'd better, or no one will find your body."

…

Locked inside the bathroom, Taylor rolled up a washcloth and placed it between her teeth. This was gonna hurt. A lot. But, if she wanted to get into her wedding dress, she had to get this incision healed up. The stuff she was using would eliminate any bad bacteria, but too much would kill her good skin cells if she wasn't careful. Never mind the fact that it was illegal to have in her possession.

Quickly, she dipped the end of a cotton swab into the tiny jar of clear liquid and rubbed it over her incision. The fires of hell itself couldn't possibly burn any worse than this did. She bit down on the washcloth, barely stifling a string of curses. When the burning finally subsided, she stuck a triple-antibiotic gel-laden Band-Aid over the spot. She was healing, but it was taking time. More time than she'd anticipated. Taking care of three other people probably wasn't helping, either.

Wound care completed for now, she tossed the washcloth into the clothes hamper, disposed of her cotton swab and Band-Aid wrapper, and hid her little jar of fire water deep beneath the sink. Hopefully no one would find it. She was tempted to take a shot of it, but it'd been a minute since she'd tasted White Lightnin', and she needed to be at herself today.

Now, since that mess was done, she turned her attention to the matter at hand. She had a delivery to make and she couldn't afford to be late.

Or get caught.

…

Severide nearly dropped his glass of sweet tea when Taylor walked into the kitchen. She was wearing a red sundress and cowboy boots. He could count the number of times he'd seen her in a dress on one hand and have fingers left over. "Damn, baby." he said, putting the glass in the sink and bending down to kiss her cheek, "You outta warn a guy before you come in dressed like that."

Taylor chuckled, "Gotta keep you on your toes, babe."

He pulled her into his arms, "That dress is coming with us on our honeymoon."

She grinned up at him, "Oh really?"

"Mm-hmm." He brushed his lips over hers, as he tugged at the dress, raising the hem a couple of inches, "You're killing me, you know? I don't know if I can wait until the wedding."

Her hands trailed over his chest, "It's just a few more days."

"I know. And you're not helping." He kissed her again and backed her into the counter, pressing the heat that had gathered below his belt into her hip.

She gave him a mischievous look as one of her hands drifted down his stomach and found his heat. He whimpered when she gave him a little squeeze. "What're you gonna do when the time is up?"

Smiling wolfishly, Severide lowered his lips to her ear and whispered his plans for their first night as a married couple in quite explicit detail.

"Naughty boy."

"You have no idea." He kissed her once more and backed off a little before someone walked in on them, "Are you ready to head over to Molly's?" Hopefully he could walk to her truck.

Taylor sighed, "Yeah. We're not staying, though."

He frowned, "Why?"

"Remember what happened the last time?"

"Oh, yeah." He chuckled, "I don't think you'll have to worry about beating drunk girls off of me at this time of day."

…

Casey watched the cross that hung from the rearview mirror as it swung rhythmically back and forth, glinting in the late-summer sunlight. Taylor was slouched easily in the driver's seat, one hand draped over the steering wheel, the other dangling lazily out the window. Although she looked totally relaxed, her hazel eyes were constantly scanning the road, analyzing traffic, looking for careless drivers, checking on Enzo, who was riding happily in the bed of the truck…watching the police cruiser that was tailing them.

Severide was kicked back in the passenger seat, staring out his open window, absent-mindedly mouthing the words to the country song that was playing on the radio. He wore a beat-up old Georgia Bulldogs baseball cap that had once belonged to Taylor's late husband. One of his hands rested on Taylor's bare knee.

Casey sighed. Part of him was jealous of his best friend. He missed having a woman in his life. He missed having someone to hold at night, someone to call his own, someone to love him with the same intensity that his friends did. But, he was glad that Severide had Taylor. Severide had been in a very bad, very dangerous place, and Taylor had been the only thing that kept him from going over the edge.

Otis leaned over and whispered, "We've lost Severide." as he pointed to the Ariat work boots that Severide had suddenly started wearing.

Casey chuckled. Taylor's country ways were beginning to rub off on the other Lieutenant, and it had become somewhat of a joke amongst the members of Firehouse 51. "You're marrying into that, dude."

Otis smiled as he thought of Katie, who was at a promising job interview, "I know."

"Have you talked to Luke today?" Severide asked Taylor, rubbing his thumb against her knee.

"No." She sighed, "They should be up here sometime next week. I probably need to text him, though."

"If you don't mind my asking, Shel," Casey started cautiously, "Why hasn't your family been up since the accident? I mean…you broke your arm last time and Luke left work to get to you. You almost died this time, and no one has even called."

She shifted a little uncomfortably, "Yeah…I didn't tell anyone about this last one."

_That_ was unexpected. And odd. "Why?"

"Mostly because we have a week and a half until the wedding, and I _really_ don't want to deal with my mother until I _absolutely_ have to. And because Luke's daughter was caught with weed and pills at school the day before the explosion. She just turned sixteen. The school has a zero tolerance policy. I figured they have enough to stress over right now."

"I see."

"Hang on." Taylor warned, seconds before she yanked the truck down a side street and sped up, turning quickly onto another street and then another, effectively losing the poor officers who had been assigned to watch them for the day.

"Hey!" Otis exclaimed, scrambling for a handhold, "What's the idea?!"

"I can't do that followin' crap." Taylor answered, turning back onto the main road and maneuvering calmly through traffic, "Makes me nervous."

"But, what if something happens?" Why was no one else freaking out?

"Otis, my daddy didn't raise no damsel. Underneath your seat is a Remington three-oh-eight. There's a Judge in the glove box, a forty-five beside me, and I've got a three-eighty on my person. I ain't worried about it."

Otis frowned as he looked at Taylor. She was wearing a dress! Where on earth-

"Don't worry about where it is. Just know that it's there and I ain't the only one packin'."

Otis looked up at Severide, who met his gaze evenly in the rearview mirror. Surprised, he looked at Casey, who gave him a small smile. Struck by the fact that he was the only _unarmed_ person in the vehicle, he said, "I guess I need to learn how to shoot, too."

"It's on my To-Do List." Taylor pulled into the parking spot that was the closest to Molly's front door. Quickly, she scanned the vehicles that were already parked at the bar. Herrmann, Dawson, Brett and Cruz, and…Mills. Interesting that Mills was there. She didn't have time to ponder the possible explanations for that one, though; she had business to attend to.

Casey hopped down from the truck and removed the brown cardboard box that Taylor had stowed under his seat. He didn't know what was in the box, but she was acting kind of peculiar about it.

Taylor took it from him before he turned around, "Thank you, dear."

"What's in that thing?" Casey asked.

She was already halfway to the door, "You'll see."

Herrmann looked up as the door opened and smiled, "Hey! If it ain't Daisy, Bo, Luke, and Cooter!"

Otis frowned, "What?"

"_Dukes of Hazard_. Keep up." Herrmann turned his attention to the box that Taylor sat on the bar, "Is this what I think it is?"

Taylor smiled, "It is, indeed."

Curious, Brett and Cruz emerged from a back room and Mills and Dawson came from the other side of the bar.

The smile on Herrmann's face broadened as he unfolded the lid of the box and removed four wide-mouth pint Mason jars that were filled with clear liquid.

"Is that water?" Cruz asked, sounding skeptical.

Herrmann opened one of the jars and sniffed it, "Whoooo! Holy smokes, Taylor, what proof is that?" He handed it to Cruz, who along with Brett, sniffed the liquid.

"Damn!" Cruz exclaimed, backing away.

"Is that…" Brett sniffed the jar again, "Is that moonshine?"

"Ninety-five proof." Taylor grinned, "Genuine Georgia moonshine. Known to cure the common cold and sore throats, stop persistent coughs, open clogged sinuses, sterilize wounds, and eliminate generalized cockiness. It will not, however, make you go blind."

"How did you get that?" Casey asked, catching a whiff of the stuff as it was passed around.

Grinning like a possum, Taylor shook her head, "Can't tell ya."

"Couldn't we have ordered some of that from Smoky Mountain Moonshine?" Otis asked.

Taylor snorted, "That crap's barely corn whiskey."

Herrmann handed her some neatly-folded bills, "So, how much of this would be an acceptable serving?"

"I wouldn't do more than a tasting cup at a time." She tucked the bills casually into her bra, "And I'd probably mix it with some stuff. Folks up here aren't used to stout drinks like this. Don't advertise it, too."

"Especially since it's _illegal_." Dawson pointed out.

The tone of Taylor's voice carried a warning, "It's only illegal if you get caught with it. And we aren't gonna get caught, are we?"

…

Author's Note: Thanks to TheIrishShipperholic, HermioneandMarcus, and Sarrabr4 for the reviews! Thanks to gothygurl, Tanjatailor, and Deanlover27 for the favorites and follows! Thanks also to my readers!


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